Yami Naruto: The Gamer V2
by BalanceM88
Summary: Admittedly, he hadn't know what to exactly to expect when he eventual took control of their body. That said, who would expect their life to suddenly become a video game? Dark Naruto is The Gamer 2.0, and Konoha will burn if he has anything to say about it! The Gamer elements, Rated M for Language. Naruto/Kin/?
1. Chapter 1

**Yami Naruto: The Gamer 2.0**

**Author's Note:** Greetings everyone, been a big fan of the video game plot type stories and have wanted to try one myself. I wanted my story to stand out a bit, and I believe I figured out a way to do that; most game stories are centered around the hero, the good guy, so let's see what happens when a villain gains the power of the gamer. Enjoy.

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**Chapter 1**

He had done it, after years of careful planning a subtle aid from the Kyubi, the dark side of Naruto Uzumaki had gained control of his body. It hadn't been easy, his light side had been so naive and optimistic; Kyubi had to use its power to magnify all the instances of doubt and overall negativity Naruto felt for the darkness within to have a chance to take over.

The straw that had broken the camel's back so to speak had been the failure to graduate from the academy. Specifically it had been a concerned parent asking one of the instructors if they needed to worry about his passing and becoming a shinobi; the instructor had laughed and answered that between all of the instructor's efforts to sabotage his education and all the time Naruto spent cutting class, he wouldn't graduate even if he had double the number amount of tries. The woman had joined him in laughing, quickly spread the news to the other parents, and the laughter had spread further.

It had been too much for Naruto. The boy had run home and curled up in a ball on his living room couch, wallowing in self-doubt and shame. From there it had been a simple matter to convince the lighter half to sleep and let him take care of things. Overwhelmed, the boy had agreed and slipped down into their subconscious. It was then the darker half made certain the light side would never surface again.

The dark side of Naruto Uzumaki had struck fast, tearing into its lighter half's mental capacities. Dark Naruto had quickly stripped the lighter side of all happy memories and absorbed all the relevant knowledge he possessed; mental maps of the village, the few things he'd learned at the academy that was trust worthy, who were friends and who were enemies, and most importantly, his experience from training and pranking the village. Taking all that from the lighter half, he'd then shoved it into the Kyubi's cage in their mindscape, where the Demon Lord had happily devoured it while Dark Naruto merged the memories and experiences he'd stolen.

Despite the successful take over and assimilation of his lighter half's experiences, the new Naruto was bothered by the object that now hovering over his head. Naruto was certain it hadn't been there before the merge, and could not see why it would be now, or how it could even be there in the first place.

**Yami Naruto**

**The Gamer Lv. 2**

Naruto slowly expressed his thoughts on the matter out loud. "What...the...fuck?"

A 'ding' rang through the apartment, and a semi-transparent blue screen appeared just inches away from Naruto's face. Not expecting either action, Naruto leapt backwards, intent on gaining some distance and landing in a defensive stance, but instead tumbled over the living room couch and landing in a heap on the floor.

Grumbling to himself, Naruto pushed himself upright, rubbing his head briefly before noticing the screen was still just inches away from his face. Instead of reacting, Naruto examined the screen.

[**Yami Naruto, you have been chosen to try out the new and improved Gamer Lifestyle 2.0. With this design you will gain the powers of a true video game character! You can improve your various attributes with each level you gain, increase your effectiveness through practicing your various skills, and gain titles for various actions you perform! Gamer Lifestyle 2.0 also comes with several new features:**

-**Save File****: Don't like the outcome of a mission? Wind up being backstabbed by someone you thought you could trust? Not to worry, the GL 2.0 now comes with one save file slot, allowing you to return to a prior moment in time. Remember, save smart and save often!**

-**Achievement Bonuses****: Ever feel like you deserved more then what you got for doing some ridiculously hard or insane task? Well now you can! After close observation of the Gamer's world, the programmers have determined a number of events and objectives for you to aim for that you may now benefit from. Each achievement comes with an exp. bonus, while some grant titles, bonus attributes or skills, or even rare or one of a kind items! Some achievements may seem insanely impossible, but you will benefit from each one and all are possible to complete, we promise.**

-**Relationship Status****: Ever wonder where you stood with someone? Now you can tell! The GL 2.0 allows you to see what your relationship status is with others. Want to romance a pink haired banshee? Looks like she's repulsed by you, so you'll have to devote a lot of time and effort to change her views of you. Relationships can result in attribute bonuses, skill bonuses, discounts in stores and food venues, and even the occasional gift! See where you stand, and see if you care.**

-**Party System****: Are your allies horrible stats holding you back from improving? Well now you can add them to your party and control their growth with each level gained! Note: player can choose to add or invite other characters into their party. While adding a characters keeps them unaware of your improvements to them, inviting a character to your party allows them minimal access to GL functions; distributing attribute points and viewing stats and skills. Choose wisely who you want to invite though, because you'll have to literally give them the boot if you want them out of your party.**

-**Pause Function: Getting to many pop ups at once? Need a minute to think? Well now you can with the Pause Function! While active, the world around is frozen until it's manually deactivated. Note: While paused, player has limited mobility, but cannot affect the world around them nor exchange items in their inventory. Addition Note: Complete certain Achievements and tasks to gain items/titles that can improve Pause Function's abilities.**

**We the programmers would like to wish you the best of luck in trying out the Gamer Lifestyle 2.0. Enjoy.**]

Naruto's eye was twitching by the time he was finished reading the screen. It seemed that someone had turned his life into something of a video game. The only reason he even knew what a video game was, was because the old man Hokage had gifted him a hand held system and several games not too long ago. These games had been chosen to help challenge and grow Naruto's mental abilities, but had been of little interest to his lighter half.

It was at that point that the original had done the one thing Dark Naruto could honestly say he respected; Naruto had stolen an RPG type video game for his hand held, and had not been caught. For a kid trying to be a ninja, the old Naruto really hadn't understood what it entailed; theft, torture, murder, and a dozen other unpleasant things the lighter side would not have enjoyed.

It was only because of that action that this Naruto had any idea what a video game was and what these messages implied. Given the fact that his soul was sharing a room with a demon of near infinite power, there were few things Naruto would consider to be truly in the realm of 'impossibility.' Speaking of...

"Are you seeing this?" Naruto asked out loud.

The sound of grumbling answered in his mind. "_**See what brat? Your shitty couch?**_"

"No, the screen three inches in front of me!" Naruto retorted.

"_**I don't see any screen.**_" The Kyubi grumbled. "_**Are you sure you didn't take your lighter half's stupidity when you assimilated his knowledge?**_"

"Of course not." Naruto nearly snarled.

"_**Then how about the next time you have something important to speak of, you actually think what you want to say to me instead of speaking to yourself like a loon! It's bad enough I'm stuck in here with only whatever you see of the outside world, the last thing I need is you getting locked up in a white padded room for the rest of your life...Stupid human.**_"

Naruto sighed. '_Yeah, I love you too Kyubi._'

A grunt was his response. "_**Just don't forget our agreement brat. When you made the deal with me it gave me some room to work around this accursed seal. I can make your life miserable far more easily now if I think you're going back on your word**_."

'_Thanks for the heads up, but don't worry; before my life on this planet ends, the Hidden Leaf Village will be wiped off the face of the Earth! They will pay with blood for the indignities they've bestowed upon us!_'

Another grunt answered his declaration, however this one had an approving undertone to it. '_**You may not be the worst container I've ever had brat. Succeed and I may give you a reward, provided you impress me.**_'

Before Naruto could respond, a new screen popped in front of his face.

-**Quest Alert: Destroy the Hidden Leaf Village!**

-**Reward: 20,000,000 exp points, +500 Reputation Kyubi**

-**Bonus Objective: Destroy the village without being identified as the culprit.**

**-Bonus Reward: +150 Stealth Skill, +100 ? Skill.**

-**Bonus Objective: Impress the Kyubi.**

-**Bonus Reward: +10,000 exp points, +500 Reputation Kyubi**

-**Quest Failure: Death by Kyubi extraction.**

-**Bonus Quest Failure: Negative reputation Fire Country, Raised Ranking in Bingo Book's Most Wanted.**

-**Bonus Quest Failure: 250 Negative Reputation Kyubi.**

-**Accept Quest? Y/N**

Naruto smirked, it seemed this game was giving him free rein of the world instead of forcing him down some scripted storyline. Raising his fist, he bumped the 'yes' on the screen.

-**Quest Accepted: Destroy the Hidden Leaf Village!**

Get up from the floor, Naruto stretched briefly before sitting down on the couch. Not a second later, Naruto leapt from the couch with a yelp, a hand holding his backside. "What the hell!?" He examined the couch for the source of his pain. "A stupid spring? Damn it, I need a new couch!"

***Bing***

[**Though a unique action, a new skill has been created!**]

[**Observe Lv. 1**** Effects: Gain a read on an object or character's most obvious information. Are you trying to become Captain Obvious? Skill Upgradable.**]

Naruto's eye twitched again; what was up with the game insulting him? Still, the tail end of the skill explanation caught his attention. "The skill is upgradable." He mumbled to himself aloud. Turning to his couch, he decided to test his new skill. "Observe."

[**Shitty Couch: A neglected piece of furniture beyond repair. Broken springs, questionable stains, and a mysterious odor; even the homeless would hesitate to rest on this couch.**]

***Bing***

[**Observe Skill Level increased by 1**]

Naruto blinked at the new alert. He quickly examined the skill again.

[**Observe Lv. 2 Effects: More information is available now when using this skill. Upgradable Skill.**]

Naruto frowned, it seemed there wasn't much difference between level one and two of the observe skill. Maybe if he leveled it up more it might become useful. Putting it out of his mind for the moment, he tried to called up his stats screen.

**Name: Yami Naruto**

**Class: The Gamer 2.0**

**Title: Academy Student (+10% exp for all skills training)**

**Level:2**

**Next Level: 450 exp.**

**HP: 499/500**

**CP: 5000/5000**

**Attributes:**

**-Str: 20**

**-Dex: 34**

**-Agil: 24**

**-Con: 36 (+25)**

**-Cha: 240 (+500)**

**-Int: 20**

**-Wis: 20**

**-Lck: 4 (+500)**

**Points saved: 20**

**Ryo: 200,000**

Naruto frowned; he only understood about half of what was on the screen. HP likely meant his hit points, the amount of damage he could take, while CP were likely chakra points, how much chakra he had. He also recognized some of the attributes, but at the same time didn't recognize others at all. Knowing he had points he could spend, he decided to examine them all.

-**Strength: This attribute measures the physical power the character is able to use in and out of combat. Additional calculations may be made with use of various equip items or weapons, allowing the character abnormal bonuses for physical feats or stacked damage bonuses. Strength also calculates the probability of hitting a target with close range attacks and melee weapons.**

-**Dexterity: This attribute measures the character's defensive power and range attacks. A high dexterity rating will reduce damage taken as well as improve accuracy for projectile weapons and jutsu.**

-**Agility: This attribute measure's the character's movement abilities. Specifically this entails; physical speed, evasion ability, and the speed the character can make handsigns in. The higher the agility rating is, the faster you act and the less likely you will be hit.**

-**Constitution: This attribute measures a character's health and stamina. With a high Constitution, a character can take more hits than the average person, and keep active from dawn to dusk!**

-**Chakra: This attribute focuses on the character's chakra capacity. Chakra has many uses in this game such as casting jutsu, healing wounds, even enhancing weapons or your own body. The more chakra you have, the more power to you.**

-**Intelligence: This attribute measures a character's mental capacity. With a higher rating in this attribute, a character will have an easier time memorizing new information and sights, understanding new information, and be able to overall think faster. Remember, in the shinobi world knowledge is power. Note: Intelligence also measures how many attribute points a character gains per level up. For every multiple of ten, a character gains five points to distribute, ex: Int:10 = 5 points, Int:20 = 10 points, Int:30 = 15 points, etc. Plan accordingly how you distribute your points.**

-**Wisdom: This attribute measures a character's ability to work efficiently with what they have. A higher wisdom stat gives the character greater insight and better control over their chakra. Having options is fine, but knowing the right one to use can make all the difference.**

-**Luck: This attribute calculates how lucky the character can be. With a high luck rating a character can find better loot dropped from enemies, a higher chance of finding random items lying around, random encounters, critical hit ratios, and better odds at scenarios with chance or stat checking involved. Lady Luck may be a fickle thing, but in this game she's on your side.**

Scratching his chin, Naruto thought about the information he'd just learned. Looking at the screen it seemed that some attributes gained bonuses for whatever reason, his luck and chakra capacity being the biggest two. He wasn't sure what caused the bonuses for his Constitution, but he was fairly sure all the attempts to poison him over the years contributed to its naturally high stats. In that same light, his Dexterity was probably high due to the number of beatings he'd taken too.

Shaking his head to rid himself of such memories, Naruto continued to examine the screen as he thought of how to distribute his points. Before he decided on anything however, he noticed several boxed words on the top of the screen: **Bonuses, Skills, Inventory, Mission Log, Relationships**. Now curious, he pressed Bonuses.

The screen changed, forming a new list of information.

-**Jinchuriki Bonuses: You have a chakra demon in your gut, and your seal converts it's chakra to add to your own reserves. +500 Chakra. Demon Cloak skill available. Physical Transformation skill available. Prankster Nature skill available.**

-**XXXX Bloodline: You have the bloodline of the infamous XXXX clan. +25 Con. Health and Chakra regeneration boosted by 30%. Additional powers available through leveling of bloodline.**

-**XXXX Heritage: You are the son of XXXX and XXXX. +300% exp for seal skill learning, +25% exp for kenjutsu related skills.**

-**Devil's Luck: With all the misfortune you've experienced early in life, you have been blessed with the Devil's luck itself to compensate. +500 Luck**

Naruto glared at the screen before him. He had a bloodline, a clan, and his parents were important enough to grant him bonuses by virtue of just being their son. Naruto knew the old man looked out for him mainly due to his holding the Kyubi inside himself, but now he couldn't help wondering if the Hokage was honest about his lighter half's inquires to his parentage.

***Bing***

A second screen popped up.

-**Quest Alert: Who Are They?**

-**Objective: Discover your parentage and what clan you belong to.**

-**Reward: +10,000 experience points, +50 Int, +50 Wis, Unlock Bloodline Ability.**

-**Bonus Objective: Keep heritage a secret from the public.**

-**Bonus Objective Failure: Fire Nation Reputation increase, Iron Nation Reputation increase, Raised Ranking in Bingo Book's Most Wanted.**

**Accept Quest? Y/N**

An increase in his reputation in the fire nation and iron nation for failing to keep his heritage a secret? Combined with the raised bingo book ranking, Naruto knew the mystery behind his heritage had huge implications for both himself and the world at large. He was a little irritated that this quest had no reward for completing the bonus objective, but hit the yes button regardless.

-**Quest Accepted: Who Are They?**

Looking over the four remaining untapped menu boxes, Naruto decided to select the skills box.

**Skills:**

- **Gamer Mind Lv. Max**

- **(Passive) Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through**

- **(Passive) Allows peaceful state of mind**

- **(Passive) Immunity to psychological status effect**

- **Gamer Body Lv. Max**

- **(Passive) Grants a body that allows the user to live the real world like a video game (No physical damage, pain lingers for seconds dependant on severity of damage received)**

- **After sleeping in bed, Restores HP, CP, and all status effects**

- **Physical Endurance Lv. 20**

- **Body durability increases, resulting in less damage sustained**

- **(Passive) 60% decrease in damage from physical attacks**

- **Skill Upgradable**

- **XXXX Clan Regeneration Lv. 15**

- **Bearing the XXXX Bloodline, the character gains a natural health regeneration ability**

- **(Passive) 3 HP recovered per second**

- **Skill Upgradable**

- **Intermediate Chakra Regeneration Lv. 2**

- **Upgraded from Chakra Regeneration, this skill allows faster rate of chakra recovery**

- **(Passive) 100 CP recovery per minute**

- **Skill Upgradable**

- **Poison Resistance Lv. 40**

- **Measures the body's resistance to poisons and other negative status inflictions**

- **(Passive) 40% resistance to poison damage**

- **(Passive)** **20% resistance to Daze and Confusion status affiliation**

- **Skill Upgradable**

- **Gardening Lv. 6**

- **The ability to raise and care for plants**

- **(Passive) 5% bonus chance to save dying plants**

- **(Passive) 2% chance of bonus effects granted to grown food/herbs/poisons/powder**

- **Skill Upgradable**

- **Cooking Lv. 2**

- **The ability to make meals using proper materials**

- **(Passive) 2% bonus chance of producing edible food**

- **Skill Upgradable**

- **Prankster Nature Lv. Max**

- **Kitsune are tricksters and so are you**

- **(Passive) 40% bonus to Trap Mastery skill**

- **Trap Mastery Lv. 55**

- **Ambush or surprise others with traps**

- **(Passive) 50% bonus to trap likelihood success**

- **(Passive) 30% bonus to trap effectiveness (Confusion and Daze Status affiliations added)**

- **Skill Upgradable**

-**Stealth Mastery Lv. 30**

- **Sneak around undetected by others**

- **(Passive) Can remain hidden from High Chunin Level characters easily**

- **(Passive) 30% bonus to weapon damage when ambushing enemies**

- **Skill Upgradable**

- **Kunai Mastery Lv. 5**

- **(Passive) 8% increased accuracy with one throwing knife**

- **(Passive) 4% increased accuracy with two throwing knives**

- **(Passive) 10% damage increase**

- **Skill Upgradable**

- **Shuriken Mastery Lv. 4**

- **(Passive) 6% increased accuracy with one shuriken**

- **(Passive) 3% increased accuracy with two shuriken**

- **(Passive) 8% damage increase**

- **Skill Upgradable**

- **Observe Lv. 2**

-** (Active) Gain information on an object or person. More information available at higher levels**

- **Skill Upgradable**

- **Transformation Jutsu Lv. 12**

- **(Active)** **Using chakra, the character can mask their form with the image of something or someone else. 20 CP per minute**

- **Skill Upgradable**

- **Physical Transformation Lv. 3**

- **Jinchuriki ability**

- **(Active) Able to make any transformation jutsu of an object and person real. Cost 3 CP per second.**

- **Limited to less than character basic form's height and body weight.**

- **Skill Upgradable**

- **Substitution Jutsu Lv. 4**

- **Using chakra, the character can switch places with an inanimate object.**

- **(Active) 30 CP per use, + 10 CP per yard between character and object.**

- **(Active) User can switch places with other characters or animals, CP cost equals difference in CP + 20 CP per yard distance.**

- **Skill Upgradable**

- **Demon Cloak Lv. 1**

- **Summon the power of the Kyubi to enhance your power**

- **Tail One of Nine available**

- **(Active) +150% Str, +150% Dex, +150% Agil**

- **(Active) +20% damage to all chakra related attacks**

- **(Active) 20% decrease Int, 20% decrease Wisdom**

- **(Active) 50 HP damage per minute usage**

- **Minor reduction to Gamer Mind skill**

- **(Active) 200 CP cost per minute**

- **Skill Upgradable**

Naruto couldn't help but gawk at his final skill; those were some major stat boosts, and it was only at level one! Looking over the rest of them, he mentally checked over what his lighter half had done when he was in control, and found himself partially agreeing with most of the skill levels displayed; he knew all the pranking done would have raised his Trap Master skill, but for it to be so high, especially when including the Prankster Nature skill...

He then had an epiphany; when he had absorbed his lighter half, he'd also gained his experience, skills, and stats. It explained why his basic stats were so high to begin with, and why some of the skills he had done next to nothing with had a level or two of experience. Naruto was literally twice the person he was before! Laughing quietly to himself, Naruto moved onto the inventory section.

The screen before him switched to a grid like pattern, several of the boxes had images in them. Clicking on the Ryo symbol, Naruto watched with wide eyes as 200,000 Ryo in bills spilled out from the screen. Picking one up, he noticed it had a ketchup stain in the corner; Naruto had gotten that bill just a few hours ago. Knowing the money was real, Naruto held the bill up to an empty box and watched as the screen rippled as his hand went through it. Withdrawing his hand, the bill was gone and the Ryo symbol had filled the selected box.

Taking the time to place the money back into the inventory, Naruto spent the next few minutes afterwards experimenting with what he could place into the inventory. As it turned out, it was a lot; anything Naruto could lift or move under his own power could be placed in the inventory regardless of size. That said, when he managed to place his couch in the inventory it took up three spots, so size apparently was a factor. Shrugging, he moved on to the mission log.

Looking over the mission log, he didn't find anything too surprising; aside from the two quests he'd accepted, Naruto only had a few other active missions. The first was paying rent for use of the apartment, failure of which would see him and his belongings removed from said apartment, while the other was to graduate from the Shinobi Academy. Only the second one offered a bonus; by graduating as the top student in the class, he'd gain the title "Rookie of the Year," a bundle set of kunai, shuriken, and ninja wire fresh from the package (and therefore untampered,) and 2,000 Ryo. To Naruto's annoyance, he could not find a description for the title's bonuses, but resolved to do his best to gain it regardless.

Moving to the final screen, Naruto examined his relationship stats.

- **Konohagakure**: 0/1000 Public Enemy

- **Hiruzen Sarutobi**: 200/1000 Beloved

- **Ichiraku Ramen Stand**: 500/1000 Role Model

- **Iruka Umino**: 800/1000 Neutral

- **Mizuki**: 0/1000 Hated

- **Hinata Hyuga**: 700/1000 Admired

- **Sakura Haruno**: 0/1000 Hated

- **Ino Yamanaka**: 0/1000 Hated

- **Shikamaru Nara**: 800/1000 Neutral

- **Choji Akimichi**: 50/1000 Friendly

- **Kiba Inuzuka**: 400/1000 Neutral

- **Shino Aburame**: 0/1000 Neutral

- **Sasuke Uchiha**: 900/1000 Disdain

- **Tenten**: 500/1000 Friendly

- **Rock Lee**: 500/1000 Friendly

- **Neji Hyuga**: 700/1000 Disdain

- **Kyubi**: 200/1000 Disdain

- **Reference Scale**: Individuals

- **Worshiped**: The highest level of relationships; a character with this relationship will do anything you say, and it will be hard to regress the relationship

- **Beloved**: Second highest level of relationships; this character cares deeply for you, and will go out of their way to help you, within reason

- **Admired**: This character knows a lot about you and looks up to you for whatever reason

- **Friendly**: This is a character with whom you have a decent relationship with

- **Neutral**: This character doesn't hate you, but doesn't like you either

- **Distain**: This character dislikes you

- **Hate**: This character wants nothing to do with you, or actively tries to make your life miserable

- **Reference Scale**: Groups

- **Godly**: To these people you are a Kami who walks among them and can do no wrong

- **Legendary**: The feats you've done for these people are the stuff of legends. You are highly respected and have accomplished much that the people around you have benefited from

- **Hero**: You have put your life on the line for these people and accomplished many amazing feats. You are a respected member in this group

- **Role Model**: You're not the best out there, but people use you as an example of something to strive for

- **Average Jo**: People are indifferent to you and what you do

- **Undignified**: People don't care to associate with you

- **Menace**: People have an intense dislike for you and may sometimes harass you

- **Public Enemy**: Mothers hide their children from you, and people will go out of their way to make your life miserable

Naruto was surprised by only a few of the relationship stats he had with people; to his memory he had never interacted much with Hinata, yet the girl admired him. He hung out with Choji, Shikamaru, and Kiba occasionally, and they all got along fairly well, but figured their relationship stats would have been higher. Did they just like feeling cool hanging out with a higher grade classman? Naruto also knew Sakura and Ino hated it when he targeted Sasuke, but to outright hate him over that? And what was Mizuki-sensei deal?

Shrugging it off, Naruto let out a yawn. Blinking in surprise, he checked the clock and found it was almost midnight. Given everything that had happened that day, he was surprise he hadn't notice his fatigue sooner. Stretching briefly, he closed the screen in front of him and started for the bedroom.

As he got ready for bed, Naruto began planning for the next day; he'd have to look more in depth into this Gamer ability he somehow acquired, as well as a way to explain any sudden shift in personality from his lighter half. He knew he could act like the idiot, but he didn't want to do it anymore then he had to.

Pajamas on, Naruto slid under the covers and stared up at the ceiling. He had a week before he had to return to the academy, having failed his final exam, and only two more chances to succeed. '_So much to do, so little time._' Naruto thought to himself as he closed his eyes. Tomorrow would be the first step towards his goals of becoming stronger, and towards the destruction of Konohagakura.

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Glass shattering caused Naruto's eyes to snap open. Eyes widening, he barely managed to roll off the bed, avoiding the thrust of a kunai knife. Quickly getting to his feet, he turned to see two other figures leap through the broken window. All three were clad in black clothing, hoods over their heads, and light blue lensed goggles over their eyes. Judging by their height, they appeared to be around his age group, but otherwise there was nothing he could see to identify them.

***Bing***

- **You have been ambushed by unknown assailants!**

- **Objective 1: Survive for ten minutes until Anbu arrive**

- **Objective 2: Defeat unknown assailants**

- **Optional Objective: Kill all enemy intruders**

Naruto dived out of the way of a barrage of kunai and shuriken. Grabbing the pouch with his ninja tools, he quickly retreated down the hallway towards his living room. Knowing he didn't have time to finish reading the screen, he closed it as he pulled out a kunai knife. Reaching the living room, he skid to a halt as he spotted nine other black clad figures, each with weapons drawn.

The new Naruto let out a sigh. "Well fuck..."

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That's all for the first chapter, I'll try to have the next one out within a month but I can't promise anything; the curse of being a slave to my muse.

Let me know what you think of this, and if anyone has any suggestions, be it quests or skills, feel free to submit them. I do reserve the right to say no though.

As far as pairings go, I plan to limit myself to a three way between Naruto and two kunoichi. One I've already selected, Kin Tsuchi of the Sound Trio, though she won't come in till much later in the story. So if anyone wants to give me arguments for your favorite girl to be a part of the three way, feel free to.

Till next time all ^^


	2. Chapter 2

**Yami Naruto The Gamer 2.0**

Hello everyone! Just wanted to say I'm blown away by how much attention this fic attracted in such a short time. Could be just newbie awe, but thank you non-the-less. Be sure to check the after chapter notes, as I'll try to answer a couple questions there. For now though, enjoy chapter 2!

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Naruto clenched the kunai in his hand as he examined his opponents. They all wore matching uniforms to the three from the bedroom, however three of their numbers were clearly adults while the six others in the room were again his size. As he focused on one of the smaller of the group, a pop up appeared before.

**Name: Tali Koyumi**

**Class: Human**

**Title: Academy Washout**

**Level: 10**

**Next Level: 643 exp.**

**HP: 400/400**

**CP: 300/300**

**Attributes:**

**Str: 10**

**Dex: 16**

**Agil: 10**

**Con: 12**

**Cha: 25**

**Int: 24**

**Wis: 16**

**Lck: 8**

**Points Saved: 0**

**Ryo: 20**

**Tali Koyumi recently failed her last graduation exam, and has been washed out of the Shinobi Program.**

Going on a hunch, Naruto proceeded to scan each of the other smaller members of the group. Quickly browsing through the information and mentally closing the pop ups, he smirked; all the kids before him had either failed the final exam like himself-former self he mentally corrected, or had washed out of the shinobi program entirely. Despite the fact that they each were several levels higher than him, Naruto's own stats surpassed all of theirs.

The only issue was the adults in the back of the room. His observe skill wouldn't give him anything on them outside of an HP measurement. Given how the other assailants were people he knew by name, Naruto could only speculate that the three adults were people he hadn't met before. Unable to get a read on their levels but familiar with how the team system worked, Naruto could only guess that they were chunin rank best case, actual jonin worst case.

"So, Tali," Naruto started, "I'm guessing those jonin behind you said you and the others here would become a genin if you killed me. Am I right?"

"How did you know it was me?" Tali asked in surprise.

"Your stance, the way you're holding your kunai, your figure, and now your voice." Naruto answered before turning to the others. "Geo, Kali, Malik, Vicktor, Hugo."

"No way!" Geo exclaimed, dropping out of his stance in shock. "How could he identify us so easily?!"

"Yeah! He was the very bottom of the class!"

"The instructors said they only kept him around for the money they were getting to teach him!"

"Good to know." Naruto said with a smirk after that last one. "As to how I know, well, I have many talents the academy doesn't test for." He then frowned. "I'll give you all one chance; leave now or else I won't be held responsible for anything that happens to you."

"No one will be leaving this apartment." One of the adults stated as he stepped forward, drawing a sword from his back. "Naruto Uzumaki, the incarnation of the Kyubi no Kitsune, you have been found guilty of multiple counts of public disturbance, multiple counts of destruction of public and private property, the murder of thousands within Konoha, and for using your demon powers to manipulate the Sandaime Hokage. For your crimes you have been sentenced to death."

"Wait, incarnation of the Kyubi?" Tali asked, looking at the jonin.

"It's how he was able to identify you all; he can read minds just by making eye contact." The jonin explained.

"I wish!" Naruto laughed. "And boy do you have things mixed up. I'm not the incarnation OR the actual Kyubi; I'm it's jailer, and the only thing keeping it from tearing this village to pieces! Kill me and the Kyubi with all its power will be released in the center of this village, and you all will be responsible."

"He's lying!" The sword wielding jonin snarled once he saw several students waver.

"Fuinjutsu: Life Sealing Barrier!"

Heads snapped to the door of the apartment. There, one jonin was on his knees, five scrolls spread out in a circle around a seal on the floor. Naruto felt a sharp pain in his chest, right where his heart was, just as a golden wall of light erupted from the sealing array. The golden wall spread across the walls, floors, and ceiling of the apartment before vanishing through them.

"What the hell?!" Naruto snarled as he caught his breath.

"The Life Sealing Barrier is now surrounding this apartment complex." The sealer explained. "It's power is now tied to your life force, and will drain you dry while keeping you contained here; it will only come down once you're dead."

"You have got to be the biggest idiot of the lot here!" Naruto growled. "You've obviously studied seals, yet you're treating me like the kunai sealed in a scroll! I am not the Kyubi, and I'll say it again, kill me and you risk letting it rampage through the village!"

"Is that possible?" Geo asked.

"No, now kill that demon so we can all go home!" The sealer ordered.

"Complete this task and you will all be made genin." The final jonin, who'd been silent up till now stated. "You'll have two days off before you start missions, and you will get S class pay for killing the demon."

"...This doesn't feel right." All heads turned to Tali. "A sudden assassination, using academy failures to kill the supposed reincarnation of the strongest Demon Lord, and the possibility of releasing the demon from Naruto's body if he's killed?" She shook her head and put her kunai away. "This smells like a set up to me, and we're here to suffer the fall out regardless of the outcome. I'm out."

"Traitor!" Tali turned, eyes going wide behind her goggles as the sword wielding jonin charged her. She stumbled backwards, barely avoiding a thrust, but lost her balance and fell on her back. The jonin raised the sword above his head with both hand and swung down with all his might...

...only to stager back as a kunai pierce his throat. Eyes wide, he saw Naruto standing just inches before him. "Substitution Jutsu." Naruto answered the unasked question before spinning in place and mule kicking the kunai in the jonin's neck. A dark spot formed on the front of his face mask as the jonin fell on his back. His head rolled to one side, and his body stilled.

"Kill them!" The sealer snarled. "Kill them both!"

Naruto swiftly pulled two kunai from his pack and charged towards the far corner where Geo and Malik were. Both boys began throwing a barrage of kunai and shuriken at him, but Naruto dodged most of them, deflecting the ones he couldn't. Suddenly, a pop up appeared in front of his face; Naruto quickly slid to the side and overturned the coffee table, using it as a shield as he got rid of the screen.

Getting an idea, Naruto quickly opened his inventory and summoned the couch in front of him. The barrage stopped as both boys wondered where the couch had come from. Focusing his chakra into his feet, Naruto drop kicked the couch, causing it to slide and eventually roll toward the boys. Malik managed to pull off a substitution jutsu and evade it, but Geo was not as luck as the side of the couch full of weapons slammed into him. Pinned in place and yelling in pain, Geo could do nothing as a chakra enhanced kunai pierced his face.

Naruto growled as two more pop ups appeared before him. Dismissing them, he quickly turned to Malik with both hands full of shuriken, and after charging chakra into them proceeded to let them fly. His view was again distorted as another pop up screen appeared, but Malik's cries of pain told him at least one shuriken hit it's mark. Dismissing this screen and grabbing weapons off the table, he peppered Malik with the weapons until he saw his HP bar go black.

"Naruto!"

Turning, he saw an injured Tali dive to one side as a barrage of kunai and shuriken rushed out from the hallway, and now towards him. Grabbing the table, he lifted it off the ground and held it as a shield before him. Once he heard the impacts stop, he lowered the table enough to see beyond it; the three assailants who attacked him in his bedroom had joined the fight.

Slamming a corner of the table onto the floor, the weapons embedded in it fell to the ground. Enhancing his body with chakra, he reared back before launching the table sideways into the hallway. Yells of shock and surprise rang out as the trio were hit and bowled over by the table, having no room to maneuver in the small hallway.

Grabbing the sword from the fallen jonin and gripping the hilt with his teeth, Naruto flashed through handsigns and used the substitution jutsu with a chair in the kitchen area. Now behind three of his attackers, Naruto grasped the blade and swung it with both hands at the nearest one. Hugo's head was instantly removed from his shoulders, and Vicktor quickly fell due to a stab through his stomach.

Kali screamed in rage as she pulled a wooden bo staff from a scroll. Charging forward, she showed some skill with her weapon as Naruto found himself forced to back up less the strikes he couldn't counter hit. Growling in frustration, he dropped the sword and grasped the bo staff with both hands.

Seeing Kali's eyes widen in surprise, Naruto gave a chakra enhanced yank on the staff. Underestimating Naruto's strength, Kali found herself stumbling forward, a foot slamming into her face a second later. Another pop up appeared, but Naruto quickly dismissed it as he grabbed the sword from the floor. Crying out in pain, she fell to the floor clutching her now bloody nose, a stain forming on the front of her mask. Naruto swiftly beheaded Kali, ending her pained whimpers.

"Wind Style: Air Bullet!"

Naruto turned just in time for something heavy to slam into him, the momentum carrying him back into the kitchen. Slamming back first into the stove, he fell to the floor, quickly noticing the heavy pressure hadn't left him. Looking up, he saw it's was Tali's injured body on top of him.

"...Run Naruto."

The girl's voice was barely above a whisper, but Naruto clearly heard her. As Tali's body fell folded forward, Naruto's eyes widened as he saw several sealing tags on her back. He quickly flashed through handsigns just as they began to fizzle, and barely managed to execute another substitution jutsu before the exploded violently.

Naruto shielded is face as fire and a shockwave erupted out of the kitchen, hissing as pieces of metal, plastic, and wood bombarded his body. Pushing himself to his feet, Naruto saw he was now between the living room and hallway. Turning to the hallway, he spotted the other kids trying to rise and charged them. Pulling out a kunai, he quickly ended them by slicing deeply into their throats with his chakra enhanced blade.

"Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!"

"Wind Style: Wind Bullet!"

Naruto's eyes widened as he heard the jutsu called. Knowing there wasn't enough time for another substitution jutsu, he quickly dived into an open doorway, avoiding the combination jutsu. Seeing he was in his bathroom, he quickly passed through the shower curtain and hopped into the bathtub.

The two jonin arrived at the doorway seconds later. Spotting Naruto's blond hair through the shower curtain, the sealer grabbed a rolled up bundle of explosive seals and tossed it into the bathroom. Seeing what he was doing, the other jonin ran down the hallway in an effort to avoid the coming explosion.

A large explosion, greater than the one from the kitchen, erupted from the bathroom. Parts of the already damaged roof came apart and fell into the apartment, kicking up even more dust in the wake of the explosion. Using a minor wind jutsu, he blew the dust and smoke aside, then gawked at the sight before him.

"How!?" The jonin exclaimed.

Naruto smirked as he walked forward, brushing some dust off his shoulders. "Substitution jutsu; used it on the seals guy then detonated the explosive seals with a chakra pulse."

"But you've used the jutsu several times already in this fight; you should be dead from chakra exhaustion!"

"One of the perks of have kage level reserves is I can use that jutsu a number of times, even if it's on other people." Naruto answered. "I'll admit, doing it on people drains far more chakra then on objects, but I'm not worried. Know why?"

"W-Why?"

Naruto grinned as crimson chakra began to coat his body. "I have two chakras!" His eyes turned crimson, pupils turning to slits, and the whisker marks on his face became more profound. The crimson chakra bubbled around his body, two fox like ears forming above his head and a single tail began swishing back and forth behind him.

The jonin let out a terrified scream, only to be cut off as Naruto embedded his fist in his stomach. Doubling over, the jonin quickly found his feet leaving the ground as a powerful elbow struck up under his chin. Naruto quickly grabbed the jonin's leg and proceeded to swing him around once before throwing him to the other side of the apartment.

Slamming into the far wall, the jonin bounced backwards from it and staggered, turning straight into a spin kick from Naruto that caused his head to snap to one side. Spinning from the kick's momentum, the jonin fell to the floor, only for his leg to again be grabbed, and to again be thrown at a wall.

Before the jonin could hit the wall however, Naruto appeared in front of it, and kicked man in the back. The sudden shift of force caused a sickening crack to be heard, and the jonin collapsed to the ground with a scream of pain. Seeing the man unable to do anything but cry now, Naruto channeled the crimson chakra into his fist, and slammed it into the jonin's head, causing it to burst open like a watermelon.

The crimson chakra faded from his body, and Naruto soon found himself on his knees. Panting and gasping for air at the same time, darkness quickly overtook his vision and he fell into blissful unconsciousness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sound of dripping water was the first thing Naruto heard as he regained consciousness. Groaning softly, he slowly sat up, body aching from the effort. Rubbing his eyes, he examined his surroundings.

The walls appeared to be made of stone, and the floor had ankle high water, dirty water at that, over it save for the small island Naruto was on at the moment. There was no ceiling in sight, leaving darkness overhead, a stone wall behind him while the hall turned sharply several yards ahead of him.

Now fully awake, Naruto knew where he was; It was his mindscape, the mental representation of himself! He was pleased to see the conditions had changed a bit since his last time visiting; what had once been a sewer line now resembled more of a cavern. A small improvement, but he'd take what he could get.

Sighing, Naruto folded his arms and crossed his legs. "I must have passed out if I'm back here." He thought out loud. "Good thing I took out all those assassins before it happened; those guys were surprisingly easy now that I think about it..."

He frowned. "Tali's stats showed she was at level ten, yet they were overall lower then my stats even without the bonuses I have. Even with my theory about doubling my stats by absorbing part of the loser, there shouldn't be that big a difference, on my end anyways, between our stats with her being eight levels higher than me...could it really be as simple as me being the main character in this 'game' I have to play?"

Naruto shook his head. "I'm not gonna figure this out unless I get some more information about this gamer ability I have. Wish this thing came with a manual or settings function a-" A screen appeared before. Naruto blinked before examining it.

-**Settings**

-**Bleed Damage: On**

-Bleed damage alters game play to increase damage effects in relation to injuries. Blood lose will now count as damage to both your enemies and yourself. An equalizer against higher level opponents, but its effects can be deadly to yourself as well.

-**Calculation Menu: Off**

-When this function is on, an extra menu is available to view all calculations made in combat.

-**Journal Menu: Off**

-When this function is on, an extra menu is available to view recent events, items bought and sold, loot found, and scenario rewards.

-**Instant Notification: On**

-Whenever the player gains a skill level, upgrades a skill, gains a stat point, or gains a level, a pop up screen shall appear.

-**New Skill Notification: On**

-Whenever the player gains or creates a new skill, a pop up shall inform them of the details of the new skill. Note: skills created by the gamer power can be named by the player.

-**Subtitles: Off**

-When this function is on, subtitles appear in front of the character speaking in the form of pop up windows.

-**Advanced Menu Customization: Off**

-This function allows the player to completely revamp the existing menus to their own personal preferences.

Naruto immediately turned off Instant Notification and New Skill Notification settings, while activating the Journal Menu. With both notification settings off, he now didn't have to worry about pop ups appearing during combat, while the journal would allow him to discover any important information the pop ups would usually provide. Closing the settings menu, he brought up his stats menu and flipped to the journal menu to check the latest entries.

- **Academy Washout Kills x8: 1,600 exp, 200 Ryo**

- **Jonin Kills x2: 15,000 exp, 1,200 Ryo**

- **Jonin Seal Specialist Kill: 8,000 exp, 3,000 Ryo**

- **Random Event-Ambush: Complete**

- **Rewards: 1,500 exp, 3,000 Ryo, Shuriken (40), Kunai (40), Poison Sword (1), Air Bullet Jutsu Scroll, Beginner Fuinjutsu Scroll.**

- **New Skill 'Thief' Created**

- **New Skill 'Chakra Current' Created**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Substitution Jutsu's Level Increased**

- **Kunai Mastery Level Increase**

- **New Ability Available for Kunai Mastery Skill**

- **Shuriken Mastery Level Increase**

- **New Ability Available for Shuriken Mastery Skill**

- **Observe Skill Level Increased**

Naruto gawked at all the information he just went over; several level attributes gained, 7,400 Ryo, a poisonous weapon, a jutsu scroll, a beginner scroll for sealing, a new skill, and several skill level ups and upgrades. All of that from just one random event? Shaking his head, he began examining the skills mentioned.

- **Thief Lv. 1**

-** The ability to steal object(s), be they from stores or enemies**

-** (Passive) 1% increase to stealing undetected**

-** (Active) By placing a hand on the target, a random object or item will be moved to you inventory. 100 CP per use**

- **Skill Upgradable**

- **Chakra Current Lv. 1**

- **By channeling your chakra through your body, you can gain a temporary boost to your stats. Channeling chakra to a weapon will increase damage output and may add bonus effect to its attack.**

- **(Active) +10 Strength, +10 Dexterity, +10 Agility. 30 CP per second**

- **(Active) +10 Damage Projectiles, 10 CP cost**

- **(Active) +20 Damage held weapons, 15 CP per second**

- **Skill Upgradeable**

- **Substitution Jutsu Lv. 8**

- **Using chakra, the character can switch places with an inanimate object**

- **(Active) 28 CP per use, + 9 CP per yard between character and object**

- **(Active) User can switch places with other characters or animals, CP cost equals difference in CP + 18 CP per yard distance**

- **Skill Upgradable**

- **Kunai Mastery Lv. 7**

- **(Passive) 12% increased accuracy with one throwing knife**

- **(Passive) 8% increased accuracy with two throwing knives**

- **(Passive) 14% damage increase**

** - (Active) Throw an additional kunai for each single kunai thrown with a bonus of +10% damage and 2% accuracy. 20 CP cost per use**

- **Skill Upgradable**

- **Shuriken Mastery Lv. 7**

- **(Passive) 12% increased accuracy with one shuriken**

- **(Passive) 7% increased accuracy with two shuriken**

- **(Passive) 12% damage increase**

** - (Active) Throw an additional shuriken for each single shuriken thrown with a bonus of +8% damage. 20 CP cost per use**

- **Skill Upgradable**

- **Observe Lv. 4**

-** (Active) Gain information on an object or person. More information available at higher levels**

** - Character stats and general information now available when used on a character within 10 levels of user**

- **Skill Upgradable**

Naruto smirked at the results he read; it wasn't bad for having this gamer power for less than twenty-four hours. Also, he now knew that he could gain new skills and upgrade them both inside and outside of combat. He was a little irked that he hadn't leveled up the Demon Cloak skill; the rush had been incredible, despite the danger of using it and passing out.

Shaking his head, Naruto shifted over to his main stats menu. Examining it, the menu was the same as the first time he saw it except for a new button labeled "**Level Up.**" This caused Naruto to pause; with the system as he understood it, he would have to manually level up and only then would he gain the points to distribute them to his attributes. Remembering the description he'd read earlier, intelligence controlled the number of points he got each level; every ten points to the attribute gave him five more points per level up.

At twenty points currently and with twenty points to distribute, if he put all his unspent point into it before level up, he'd get twenty more points on the next level up. If he spent all his points in intelligence for the first few level ups, he could raise the number of points he'd gain drastically early on, which would then allow him to drastically affect his stats any time he leveled up!

Naruto blinked as five points suddenly appeared in his wisdom attribute without his distributing any of the stored points. Flipping to his journal menu, he saw a new entry.

-** For great insight, you have been awarded +5 Wisdom**

'_So it's possible to gain attribute points without leveling up..._' Naruto thought to himself, then grinned. '_That's good to know; I'll have to experiment with this later. Right now, time to up my intelligence stat!_'

Going back to his stats page, Naruto put all his saved points into intelligence, and then pressed the level up. A quick look over the page revealed both his HP and CP had gained a few points, despite no points being allocated to their respective attributes. It wasn't a big increase, not even ten points to either, but if it occurred every level up, Naruto wasn't going to complain.

With twenty more points to spend, Naruto again dumped them into all into intelligence, raising it to sixty. Clicking the level up button again he received thirty points this time, and noted again that there was an increase to his HP and CP. He repeated the action of dumping points into intelligence, raising it to ninety, then hit the level up button again. Now at level five, he gained forty-five points. Just as he clicked the point meter to one hundred and one, a pop up appeared before him.

[**You have broken 100 points in the intelligence attribute. You have gained the bonus ability "Diligent Student"**]

- **Diligent Student Bonus: You devote all your effort into whatever you choose to learn. +10% Skill exp, +5% exp**

'_I get a bonus every time I break a hundred points in an attribute?!_' Naruto mentally exclaimed. He quickly shifted between his various menus, trying to find out if he'd gotten anything from the chakra attribute as it was over two hundred points. His eyes eventually landed on a skill.

- **Intermediate Chakra Regeneration Lv. 2**

- **Upgraded from Chakra Regeneration, this skill allows faster rate of chakra recovery**

- **(Passive) 100 CP recovery per minute**

- **Skill Upgradable**

It was a powerful skill related to his chakra attribute, so Naruto guess it may have been his reward for breaking the hundred point mark. What really made him suspect that one was the fact that it was an upgraded skill; if attribute related skills were granted after breaking a hundred points to it, then perhaps another hundred points would naturally upgrade that skill. It was just a guess, but right now Naruto had several level ups to experiment and find out.

Flipping back to his stats menu, he finished pouring his points into intelligence, raising it to one hundred and thirty-five points. Clicking the level up button, he received sixty-five points, and after using them all he had an intelligence of two hundred even. Frowning as no pop up appeared, he hit the level up button. Now at level seven, he put one point into intelligence and a pop up appeared.

[**You have broken 200 points the intelligence attribute. "Diligent Student" bonus has been upgraded to "Devoted Student!"**]

-**Devoted Student Bonus: You are devoted to learning, and do everything right to the best of your abilities. +20% Skill exp, +10% exp**

Naruto grinned; his guess was proven more or less right. The bonus had been upgraded after breaking two hundred points, but he didn't know if it included skills gained by attributes. Knowing he still had a bunch of points and two more level ups, he decided to try raising two other attributes to over a hundred points. After a moment's thought, he decided the two attributes would be strength and wisdom; neither had bonuses to boost them, and while agility was only a point lower the wisdom, the wisdom attribute helped with chakra control.

Adding nine points to intelligence, he rounded it out at two hundred and ten points, leaving ninety points left to distribute. Dumping them all into strength, he raised it to one hundred and ten points, and received a pop up.

[**You have broken 100 points in the Strength attribute. "The Eight Gates" skill has been learned.**]

Flipping to the skills menu, he quickly found the skill and examined it.

- **The Eight Gates Lv. 1**

- **Allows the player access to the Eight Chakra Gates of the body**

- **Gate One of Eight available**

- **(Active) +100% Strength, +50% Agility**

-** (Active) 30 HP damage per second**

- **(Passive)** **50% reduction to Strength and Agility for 60 seconds after skill deactivation**

- **Skill Upgradable**

Naruto was stunned; the Eight Gates skill rivaled several of the effects of his Demon Cloak skill! Some were better, like the lack of mental strain, but what really killed it was the thirty points of damage suffered per second; a full minute of the gate would cause eighteen hundred points of damage, over three times his current max HP! He'd have to put some points into his constitution if he'd want to make liberal use of this skill.

Going back to his stat screen, he clicked the level up button, now at level eight and received one hundred and five points to distribute. This time he dumped them all into wisdom, raising it to one hundred and thirty points. As expected a pop up appeared, but this time several more appeared as well.

[**You have broken 100 points in the Wisdom attribute. You have a gained the bonus ability "Chakra Cost Reduction"**]

- **Chakra Cost Reduction Bonus: Your efforts in learning to properly mold your chakra have paid off. 20% reduction to all chakra related techniques.**

[**You have over 100 points in both Chakra and Wisdom attributes. You have gained the "Sensor" skill.**]

Again Naruto was stunned; a full twenty percent reduction to all chakra related activities?! That could make a huge difference when it came to using high level jutsu, or any jutsu for that matter really! Flipping to his skill page, Naruto examined the Sensor skill.

- **Sensor Lv. 1**

- **You have the ability to detect chakra**

- **(Passive) Can detect active chakra within one foot of player**

- **(Active) By releasing a pulse of chakra, you can make a mental map of your immediate surroundings. 30 CP cost**

- **Skill Upgradeable**

Naruto immediately saw the benefits of this skill; if he got this skill level high enough, he'd be able to detect chakra all around himself. It would be good detecting any enemies trying to get the drop on him as well as hunting any down. This was definitely a skill to work on.

Despite having only one more level up left, Naruto decided to dump all his points into wisdom again, in hopes of upgrading his reduction bonus again. Raising his level up to nine, he deposited eighty points into wisdom, raising it to two hundred and ten points, matching intelligences exactly. Once again, multiple pop ups appeared before him.

[**You have broken 200 points in the Wisdom attribute. You have gained the bonus ability "Multiple Choice"**]

-**Multiple Choice Bonus: When faced with critical decision making scenarios, three possible options shall appear to determine your action. While deciding, time shall be frozen for thirty seconds.**

[**You have equal points in both Intelligence and Wisdom attributes, each over 200 points. You have gained the "Learn Random" skill**]

Naruto quickly went to the skill page to examine his new skills.

- **Learn Random Lv. 1**

-** (Active) Once every thirty days, The Gamer is able to learn a random skill, provided they are capable of performing it**

- ** Skill Upgradable**

It was official; his gamer powers were broken. Completely and utterly broken. Naruto fell backwards on his little island, and laughed hysterically! He couldn't believe the abilities of this Gamer power; it was beyond anything he'd ever imagined possible, and it was all his!

Naruto had no idea how much time had passed before he could regain control of himself. Wiping his eyes clear of tears, Naruto took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it. Sitting up, he shifted to the stats screen and found he still had twenty-five points to spend on this level up. Naruto thought about it for a minute before deciding to place them in constitution, raising it to a natural sixty-one points, eighty-six points including the bonus. With no more level ups to use, Naruto examined his stats.

**Name: Yami Naruto**

**Class: The Gamer 2.0**

**Title: Academy Student (+10% exp for all skills training)**

**Level: 9**

**Next Level: 7240 exp.**

**HP: 1382/1382**

**CP: 5127/5127**

**Attributes:**

**-Str: 110**

**-Dex: 34**

**-Agil: 24**

**-Con: 61 (+25)**

**-Cha: 240 (+507)**

**-Int: 210**

**-Wis: 210**

**-Lck: 4 (+500)**

**Points saved: 0**

**Ryo: 207,400**

Compared to just a few hours ago, the difference was staggering. Naruto could actually feel the changes taking place in his body; ideas after idea flooded his mind, each quickly being judged almost instantly as feasible, wishful thinking, or amusing. Strength coursed through his body, yet he didn't seem to gain as much weight as expected from the muscles that were now growing. But the best thing of all was the fact the he could feel himself growing taller!

Once he felt the changes stop, Naruto slowly rose to his feet. He immediately noted he was several inches taller than when he first arrived in his mindscape, and that he felt a bit off balance due to his body's new form. Taking a minute, Naruto bounce in place, shifting his weight from one side of his body to the other, occasionally throwing a jab or kick as well.

When he felt confident in his ability to move, Naruto started walking forward; if he was in his mindscape, he might as well visit his tenant. It was as he rounded the first corner that the cavern walls began to shake. Seconds later Naruto could hear a low rumble drawing close. Quickly ducking back around the corner, a shockwave of air rushed past, slamming into the wall across from him.

Naruto blinked; he knew there were some mental defenses in his mindscape ever since he was born and suppressed by his lighter half, but he'd never encountered those shockwaves before. In fact, the closest thing he could ever relate those too were...

***Bing***

- **The Kyubi is raging!**

- **Objective: Make your way to the seal**

- **Objective: End Kyubi's rampage**

- **Bonus Objective: Knock the Kyubi off its feet**

- **Rewards: 5,000 exp**

- **Bonus Objective Reward: Relationship boost Kyubi**

"Another random event? So soon?" Naruto whined. He let out a sigh, without an accept or decline button to press he had no way of ignoring this event. It also seemed like a good idea to get on well with his tenant, given they were stuck for life. Shaking his head, he braced himself as he heard another shockwave coming. As soon as it past, and struck the wall behind him, Naruto was around the corner and racing ahead; he knew where the seal was, right now he only had to worry about avoiding the shockwaves. He'd deal with Kyubi once he reached it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That's all for chapter 2! Hope you all enjoyed it.

First off, props to **Skeek622** for guessing who the assassins were, good job. Now onto some questions!

**XxPokemonMasterxX**: "_Will there be bashing?_" Honest answer, I don't know. I like to keep things realistic, so things like Kakashi suddenly becoming an Uchiha worshiper isn't going to happen. Any changes that happen to the characters and their personalities in this story will happen due to the events they experience, or in part of the effort Naruto puts in to change their relationship status. All that said, if bashing does happen, the character will deserve it through their own actions and any inner monologue they may do.

**darkerdeepdown**: "_Is there good inherently in him or will he be total dark side here?_" Perhaps, perhaps not. He will always lean towards evil, but you'll just have to read to find out if he's got any goodness in him.

In regard to the main pairing, Naruto/Kin/? , I have yet to decide the final girl. I've received quite a few suggestions, and I enjoyed the few that came with explanations as to why it should be that girl. By all means, keep leaving reviews or PM me with your suggestions; even if I don't choose your girl as part of the threesome, they may become minions for Naruto if he sees the benefit of keeping them around.

Anyways, the first few chapters are going to be what I call the "Intro Saga," where a lot of the game mechanics will be fleshed out for everyone. I've also made some minor edits to chapter one, as certain things like skill descriptions were jumbled up when I uploaded the chapter. It should (hopefully) read a lot better now. If anyone is interested in being a Beta for this story, PM me.

I think that's about it. I'll try to keep my updates within a month of the previous chapter release, but real life take priority, no matter how much I wish it didn't have too (sigh). Till next time!


	3. Chapter 3

**Yami Naruto The Gamer 2.0**

Hey everyone! Once again, thank you all for the reviews, it really helps motivate me knowing people care enough about my work to submit a review. I will try to answer any questions that I can without revealing spoilers, and the answers will be at the end of the chapter from now on.

After the first five or so chapters I'm considering posting a second story that will deal with stats and scales for characters, and for other aspects that may come up. The reason behind the wait will be revealed in one of the upcoming chapters. If this is something you want, let me know.

I'm also still looking for a beta, so if anyone is interested please send me a PM. With all that said, please enjoy the chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Naruto series, nor the Gamer Manga series.

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The sun had long since set from above the Hidden Leaf Village, the dark night sky covered in menacing black clouds as an ominous wind blew. Near the top of the tallest building in the village, the Sandaime Hokage stood, ignoring the chilling winds as he stood on the balcony of the Hokage Tower.

Garbed in the traditional red and white robes of the Hokage, his hands clasped behind his back, Hiruzen Sarutobi gazed out into the night. Baring a stone faced expression, his eyes never left the golden glowing cube of in the distance, the one around the apartment of the boy he considered a grandson.

"Report!" He suddenly ordered. Two figures suddenly appeared behind him, each garbed in the standard Anbu uniform. One was a woman with purple hair, code name Neko, while the other was a man with brown hair, code name Cat.

Neko stepped forward. "Hokage-sama, our R&D department were able to determine the nature of the barrier jutsu. The technique is called the 'Life Sealing Barrier' jutsu, and targets the life force of victim. As life force is an element of the jutsu, it's been listed as a forbidden sealing technique by the late Shodaime."

Cat picked up from there. "The jutsu requires a constant stream of chakra in order to continue draining the target's life force. We believe who ever cast the jutsu altered the technique to include the use of scrolls filled with large stores of chakra; that way it would be guaranteed to last till the victim's life force is drained."

"We have operatives at the barrier trying to identify the various chakra signatures within the barrier, however Uzumaki-san's life force is making it difficult to gain an accurate read." Neko continued. "Efforts to bring down the barrier have caused the rate of life force consumption to increase...orders sir?"

During the report, Sarutobi's had moved to grip the railing in front of him, his posture becoming more slouched as he leaned his weight forward onto the railing. He remained silent as the two operatives watched on silently, awaiting his orders. Several minutes passed before he straightened up and turned to face them.

"...Neko, begin evacuation procedures for the entire village." The Sandaime ordered. "If Naruto dies tonight, the Kyubi will be freed from his body and surely rampage through the village. We need to minimize all possible damage and casualties in the event of that scenario."

Both Anbu operatives stiffened at the bleak announcement, eyes widened behind their masks. Neko recovered quickly though, and vanished in a whirl of leaves. "Remove your mask Tenzo." The Sandaime ordered as he walked back into his office.

Cat barely hesitated before removing his mask. "Hokage-sama, I thought the Yondaime's seal would keep they Kyubi secure even in the event of Uzumaki's death?" He questioned.

"The seal is in a constant state of flux due to the method Minato used." Sarutobi explained as he sat behind his desk, looking every year of his age. "It would drain and purify portions of the Kyubi's chakra as time would go on, adding it directly into Naruto's own chakra reserves. However, Minato had to use the chakra of a being more powerful then the Kyubi itself to keep it from overloading the drain and escaping; the Shinigami."

Tenzo openly gawked at that. "The Shinigami?!"

The Sandiame nodded his head. "It's that chakra which is causing the seal to be in flux. Over the years it has begun to stabilize, but Jiraiya and I determined it would not be till his fifteenth birthday that the seal would be able to contain the Kyubi in the event of Naruto's death."

"Hokage-sama, I can understand why you would keep this information to the public, but why didn't you share it with the Anbu division at least? We've been tasked with guarding him since his birth and-"

"And have done a piss poor job at it." Sarutobi snapped. Tenzo's jaw closed with an audible 'snap.' The old man sighed, removing his hat and rubbing his forehead. "Operative Porcupine was a plant from Iwa, and I trusted him with the information. Our forces barely managed to catch him before he reached the border...I trusted that man with my life several times..." He looked up at Tenzo. "Knowing I couldn't share this with even the highest rank of operatives, I decided to place my faith in the Anbu Black-Op's ability to follow direct orders."

"We have found the guards assigned to tonight's shift." Tenzo informed him. "They were down the road in 'Pick ur Poison' bar and grill. They are now in Anko's custody."

"Wolf!" Another Anbu appeared. "Tell Anko she has full reign over the prisoners; anything short of killing is acceptable. I want it known who was responsible for tonight!"

"Hai!" Wolf acknowledged before vanishing.

"They may not know anything." Tenzo stated.

"And they may have orchestrated the whole thing." The Sandaime countered. He drew out two shot glasses from his desk before bringing out an unopened bottle. "Sit Tenzo."

The operative did as instructed. "Sir?" He questioned, watching the old man pour shots.

"Tenzo, the Mokuton bloodline is the only thing we have that can suppress the Kyubi's chakra at this moment." Sarutobi stated, sliding a shot glass to the man. "You will need to direct its chakra upwards should it come out intangible. That is the best case scenario."

"And the worst case sir?" Tenzo asked, taking the glass.

Sarutobi raised his glass to the man. "Should the Kyubi emerge in its physical form, I shall have to use the same sealing technique Minato did, and seal it into you. Your bloodline should allow your body to adapt and contain it safely. It will give us time to use the frozen genetics of the Uzumaki clan we have to make another child; only those wielding the Mokuton or Uzumaki clan bloodline can safely contain the Kyubi within themselves."

Tenzo looked at the old man before him. He knew that if the Sandaime used the same sealing technique as his successor, the Yondaime, the old man would die. Between the Sandaime's death and the lost of the village's jinchuriki, Konoha would be significantly weakened in terms of power and leadership.

Letting out a sigh, he now understood the reason behind the shots. Nodding to the Sandaime, both men downed their shots together. At this point, the future of the Hidden Leaf Village was in fate's hand.

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Naruto growled as he dived out of the way of another shockwave. It was messed up; his mindscape was different then it was before! Sure the overall appearance was the same, but it was all bigger, longer even. He could sense that he was headed in the right direction, but out of the thirty minutes he'd been running, he should have got there twenty-five minutes ago!

If that wasn't enough, something was draining his HP as well. It was a slow drain, but as time went on, he found himself growing more and more fatigued as the pain in his chest throbbed. Sliding down the side of a wall, he cursed again.

"Damn it, what the hell is wrong with me?" Naruto groaned. "If I could just get a minute to catch my breath I could...Pause!"

The color in the world around him bled out, changing his surroundings to black and white. Naruto felt like smacking himself; he'd totally forgotten about the pause feature. Had he remembered it during his fight, he could have easily identified what was happening around himself and planned accordingly before resuming.

Shaking his head, he pulled up his stats screen and tapped on his HP bar. A second pop up appeared.

-**Life Sealing Barrier effect: Drains 5 HP per second.**

"Life Sealing Barrier...that thing's still active?" Naruto questioned. "Why wasn't it mentioned in the journal?" He flipped to the journal page, but again found nothing on it; no alerts, no quests, nothing specifically mentioning the technique.

Grumbling to himself, Naruto turned to his skills screen; he remembered one skill said something about health regeneration. Scrolling down the list, he found what he was looking for.

- **XXXX Clan Regeneration Lv. 15**

- **Bearing the XXXX Bloodline, the character gains a natural health regeneration ability**

- **(Passive) 3 HP recovered per second**

- **Skill Upgradable**

Naruto frowned; it was a good skill, but the barrier technique took five health points per second, which meant between the two, Naruto was losing two health points a second. Quickly doing the math, with his current max health he had roughly eleven minutes before the barrier drained all his health points.

"Damn it!" He cursed; with the way his mindscape had changed, he didn't know if he'd be able to complete his current quest, much less figure out a way to end this jutsu. He continued scanning his menus, looking critically at any piece of information that could aid him. Several minutes later, he found only one thing that could help him, but even that was a long shot; the Learn Random skill.

Naruto did not like his odds, he only had one shot to get a skill that could aid him. Double checking his options, Naruto suddenly found some hope; the save feature! By creating a save file, he could use the skill and if it was a technique that didn't help, he could just reload and try again.

Using the saving function felt weird, like the odd numbness one feels when a body part falls asleep, but all over. The effect lasted for nearly a minute before a pop up confirmed the save file was complete. Exiting the pause screen, color returned to the world around him. "Learn Random!"

...Nothing happened. No pop up, no sudden influx of knowledge, nothing. Growling, he activated the pause feature again and called up his journal menu. There he found the information he was looking for.

- **Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu Lv. 1**

- **(Active) Shoot a water projectile from the mouth. 16 CP cost**

- **(Passive) Water Affinity increase jutsu damage by 5%**

- **Skill Upgradeable**

Naruto sighed; while he could see the potential of the jutsu, it did nothing for him at the moment. Shifting to the main screen, he activated the load game function. The tingling sensation returned, and Naruto could perceive a slight shift in the world around him. Several seconds passed before the sensation faded, and a pop up informed him the file loading process was complete. Exiting the pause feature, he again activated the "Learn Random" skill, reactivated the pause feature, and examined his new skill.

- **Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Murder Lv. 1**

- **(Active) Shoot lightning from your hands. 38 CP cost**

- **(Passive) Bonus 10% damage if target area is wet**

- **(Passive) Bonus 5% damage per 12 CP added to jutsu**

- **Skill Upgradeable**

Naruto almost cried, almost. It was an awesome jutsu, one he really wanted to keep, but it didn't help him with his current problem. With great reluctance, he activated the load file function once again. Repeating the process, he examined the next jutsu he received.

- **Wind Style: Wind Dragon Jutsu Lv. 1**

- **(Active) Launch a dragon of wind. 80 CP cost**

- **(Passive)** **Bonus 5% damage per 20 CP added to jutsu**

- **Skill Upgradeable**

Profanity could be heard echoing through the corridor.

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He'd lost count of the number of times he'd reloaded his save file, he'd given up some amazing jutsu, he'd even torn bits of his hair out, but he finally got it. Naruto now had a jutsu that he could use to restore his HP.

- **Mystical Palm Technique Lv. 1**

- **Heal injured organics with Medical Chakra**

- **(Active) Restore 10 HP per second, 80 CP cost **

- **Skill Upgradeable**

As frustrated an experience it had been, it wasn't without some merits. Naruto had learned of a number of jutsu that would be useful to him in the near future, especially the one kinjutsu he'd gotten from his reload spree. Shaking his head, he focused at the task at hand.

Ending the pause feature, Naruto quickly flashed through handsigns. "Mystical Palm!" He exclaimed, placing a hand on his chest.

Naruto could feel the effects almost immediately as the pain in his chest died down. Looking at his hand, he was surprised to see it glowing with green chakra instead of blue. "Guess this is what it meant by Medical Chakra." He mumbled to himself, ideas of various applications for such a thing going through his head.

Checking his health on the stats screen, Naruto held the jutsu for another thirty seconds before letting it dissipate once bar read full. Moving to the edge of his cover, Naruto waited for the next shockwave to pass before darting out and rushing towards the next cover available as fast as he could. Not fast enough though; Naruto was blown back several yards from the force of the shockwave, bits of his pajamas being torn apart.

Landing heavily of the floor, Naruto quickly scurried back to his previous hiding spot, teeth chattering from unintentional dip in the water. "Damn it, my timing was off! Must have happened when I was reloading...let's see how much damage I took from it." Calling up his stats screen, he took stock of his current HP and the drain the barrier jutsu caused; the shockwave knocked roughly one hundred and eighty health points!

Naruto grit his teeth; if he had had the same HP as when he was at level two, it would have only taken two more blasts to kill him. Calling on his latest jutsu to heal the damage, he was thankful for the fact that he had placed points in his Con Attribute. Once his HP was full, he stopped the jutsu and began trying to memorize the frequency of shockwaves, though his chilled form made the task difficult.

"What I wouldn't give for some new clothes right now." He grumbled as he rubbed his arms in an effort to generate heat. He briefly pictured the outfit he had sworn to replace the orange monstrosity his lighter half swore to never get rid of; the shirt would be blood red, long sleeved, and with the kanji for "Dark" down the front. A pitch black jonin styled vest would be worn over the shirt, the thickness adding a bit of protection while also adding a few more pockets to use. There would be a blood red belt around his black shinobi pants, coupled with a pouch to hold his weapons. Steel toed boots would cover his feet, and to finish the outfit, a long black headband over his forehead, both ends being able to flutter behind him in the wind.

Naruto suddenly felt his body shift by its own accord; it was a very small movement, one he probably wouldn't have noticed at all if he hadn't been leaning against the wall. Looking down at himself, Naruto saw his tattered pajamas had been transformed into the clothes he'd been imagining. Quickly pausing the game, he turned to the journal menu.

- **New Skill 'Mental Animation' Created**

Quickly moving to the skills menu, he examined his new skill.

- **Mental Animation Lv. 1**

-** Alter your surrounding with your imagination and chakra**

- **(Active) Alter your surroundings within the next 5 seconds, 10 CP per second**

- **(Passive) 5 second recharge time**

- **(Passive) This skill is only usable in the player's mindscape**

- **Skill Upgradeable**

Naruto grinned, this skill was going to be invaluable when dealing with the Kyubi. It was too short a time limit right now though, so he'd have to level it up...A quick check of his quest list showed there was no time limit to confronting Kyubi. As long as he kept an eye on his HP and CP meters, he would be able to safely train Mental Animation...and now that he thought about it, several other skills at the same time! The only problem now was avoiding taking damage from the shockwaves while he practiced.

It actually only took him a couple of seconds to think up a solution. Slapping a hand against the cavern wall and with a cry of "Mental Animation," a portion of the wall grew and extended the length of the hall to the opposite side. Looking at it, he felt it shake as a shockwave hit it, but ultimately held up. Deciding to play it safe, Naruto went around a corner and away from the generated wall; he'd make more as he needed, but would remain away from them while he trained just in case they broke down.

Once Naruto was sure he was safe where he was, he began to train.

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"How the hell did this happen!?

Just outside the barrier, Sarutobi stood with his former student, Jiraiya of the Sannin. The man was clad in his usual kabuki-like outfit with a large scroll hanging from his back. Jiraiya was furious once he learned of the situation Naruto was in, and had actually reverse summoned himself from the Lightning country to get back to the village quickly.

"That is something we're still trying to piece that together." Sarutobi sighed. "I'm hoping Anko will get some answers from the Anbu that abandoned their post, but we don't know if they were involved or just negligent."

"Have you at least identified the location of the seal array that's powering the jutsu?"

"It's within the barrier. Unless you've developed a new seal to generate life force, the only thing we can do is hope the chakra powering the jutsu runs out before Naruto's life force does."

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen Sandaime-sama." The pair turned to see Anko walking towards them. The woman had black hair that had a blue tint, tied back into a ponytail, and brown pupil-less eyes. She was clad in a mesh bodysuit, a tan overcoat with purple inseams, and an orange mini-skirt.

"Report!" The Sandaime ordered.

"I completed the interrogation of the Anbu who abandoned their post. They were in on the assassination attempt and contributed with the preparations for it." Anko stated. "They and several others infiltrated the shinobi prison and altered the prisoner's collars to drain chakra instead of suppress it, and transmit the chakra to several scrolls."

"They included a failsafe to the seal however, and when the team I ordered to the prison tried stop the transfer, the seals quick drained the prisoners dry. As it stands, the barrier is being powered by several hundred shinobi worth of chakra." Anko finished.

"This is to elaborate to be a simple assassination attempt." Jiraiya stated. "The amount of knowledge involved with seals of this level is near mastery rank. Right now the only people with that skill level are Danzo and some of the Hyuga clan's elders, but neither have a good motive to do this."

"Actually that's not entirely true Jiraiya-sama." Anko stated. "It's well known to the academy students that the Hyuga Heiress has a massive crush on Uzumaki; the only reason I know this is because I'm friends with the heiress's escort and she confided with her."

Maybe he was getting old, or maybe it was the stress of the night, or maybe even the future implications this incident would have; whatever it was, the Sandaime Hokage decided to throw political caution to the wind in an effort to find answers and a possible solution to this mess. "Jiraiya, take Anko to where the Hyuga clan has been stationed and...ask the elders about their involvement." Sarutobi ordered. His tone left no doubt of his meaning behind the term 'ask.'

"Hai Hokage-sama." Anko agreed.

"Don't do anything reckless old man." Jiraiya cautioned.

The Sandaime pulled the ceremonial hat down, shadowing his eyes. "I will do what is necessary to protect this village Jiraiya, even if it costs me my life." He answered softly.

"I pray it doesn't come to that." Jiraiya said before vanishing in a puff of smoke. Anko followed, vanishing with a whirl of leaves.

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It felt like he had trained for hours, though Naruto had no accurate way to tell time in his mindscape. He had been careful while working on his skills, actually keeping his stats menu open to watch his HP and CP bars and with good reason; several times he'd nearly drained his chakra completely, which in turn would have prevented him from healing himself.

Naruto had also learned a bit more about his gamer powers as he grinded his skills. It seemed getting experience to level up was easy for the first fifteen levels, at least for skills with active functions, but after reaching that mark it became increasingly difficult to level a skill. Furthermore, passive skills had certain conditions that needed to be met for the skill to gain experience; in the case of his two regenerative skills Naruto needed to drain his HP and CP bars for them to activate and thus gain the experience. As luck would have it, his situation favored both of those skills.

Ending his latest use of the Mystical Palm jutsu, Naruto shifted to his skills screen and examined the skills he leveled up.

- **XXXX Clan Regeneration Lv. 17**

- **Bearing the XXXX Bloodline, the character gains a natural health regeneration ability**

- **(Passive) 4 HP recovered per second**

- **(Passive) +3 HP recovery per second when at rest**

- **Skill Upgradable**

- **Intermediate Chakra Regeneration Lv. 16**

- **Upgraded from Chakra Regeneration, this skill allows faster rate of chakra recovery**

- **(Passive) 175 CP recovery per minute**

- **(Passive) +25 CP recovery per minute when at rest**

- **Skill Upgradable**

- **Mystical Palm Technique Lv. 15**

- **Heal injured organics with Medical Chakra**

- **(Active) Restore 18 HP per second, 50 CP cost**

- **(Passive) Remove Rank D status deficiencies**

- **Skill Upgradeable**

- **Mental Animation Lv. 15**

-** Alter your surrounding with your imagination and chakra**

- **(Active) Alter your surroundings within the next 5 seconds, 10 CP per second**

- **(Active) Add 1 minute to skill activation, 300 CP cost, 5 minute delay skill reactivation**

- **(Passive) 5 second recharge time**

- **(Passive) This skill is only usable in the player's mindscape**

- **Skill Upgradeable**

- **Chakra**** Current Lv. 15**

- **By channeling your chakra through your body, you can gain a temporary boost to your stats. Channeling chakra to a weapon will increase damage output and may add bonus effect to its attack.**

- **(Active) +13 Strength, +13 Dexterity, +13 Agility. 50 CP per second**

- **(Active) +25 Damage Projectiles, 20 CP cost**

- **(Active) +35 Damage held weapons, 25 CP per second**

- **Skill Upgradeable**

- **Substitution Jutsu Lv. 14**

- **Using chakra, the character can switch places with an inanimate object**

- **(Active) 28 CP per use, + 7 CP per yard between character and object**

- **(Active) User can switch places with other characters or animals, CP cost equals difference in CP + 14 CP per yard distance**

- **Skill Upgradable**

- **Sensor Lv. 12**

- **You have the ability to detect chakra**

- **(Passive) Can detect active chakra within 18 feet of player**

- **(Active) By releasing a pulse of chakra, you can make a mental map of your surroundings. 100 CP cost per foot**

- **Skill Upgradeable**

All in all, it wasn't bad for a few hours' worth of training. Naruto had used his Sensor skill to make a mental map of his mindscape, taking advantage of both his enormous chakra reserves and the new range the skill allowed. Using Mental Animation he was able to create more walls to protect himself from the shockwaves, as well as make objects for which to practice his Substitution Jutsu.

Naruto had tried experimenting with the Mystical Palm technique, trying to spread the sensation of the healing chakra across his whole body, but he'd been unable to summon the chakra outside the use of the jutsu. Still, channeling the chakra through his body had helped raised his Chakra Current skill, so it wasn't a big deal at the moment. Finally, with both his health and his chakra reserves never being full for more than a few seconds, both of his regenerative skills gained experience.

The sound of a wall crumbling caused Naruto to leap into cover, avoiding the latest shockwave. Growling in annoyance at the constant interruptions, Naruto made a decision; he'd double up the next barrier he made and once it crumbled he'd then go deal with Kyubi. After all, nothing said he couldn't come back here for training after his quests were completed, and there were other ways to train his regenerative and healing abilities.

Activating his Mental Animation skill, Naruto caused a large portion of the cavern wall on his left to expand the length of the hallway and connect to the right wall. To his surprise however, part of the wall he constructed seemed to continue through part of it as if there was nothing there. Now curious, Naruto used his Observe skill on that section of the wall, and found it suddenly became transparent. He examined the pop up his observe skill brought up.

-** Secret found! 1/?**

Naruto frowned; he didn't like the idea of there being secrets hidden in his head, much less what such a thing would imply. Passing through the transparent wall, Naruto found a glowing barrier in front of him, a strange pattern flashing across the surface of the barrier. He quickly took a step back and used Observe on it.

-** Memory Seal, Grade 3**

A memory seal!? Like suppressed memories? Naruto cursed and snarled at the new information; for all he knew now, the Sandaime and higher ups could know about him, the darker persona of the original Naruto, and been suppressing the both of them via sealing away memories of incidents. Kyubi had never mentioned it before, so it was possible this was just a traumatic memory the original had suffered through that needed suppression in order to function.

"Mental Animation!" Naruto yelled. Forming a large drill with the skill, he proceeded to dig into the barrier; he wanted, no NEEDED to know what it was suppressing. The barrier however was strong, and after several minutes the drill in his hands broke.

Taking a minute to replenish his health and let his chakra reserves build up, Naruto again used Mental Animation, this time pouring 100 CP into it to keep it active for a full minute. In front of the barrier, multiple drills materialize, blocking almost all of the barrier from Naruto's view. With a gesture, the drills rammed into the barrier, digging into the surface. Replacing drills where needed, Naruto added several shockwaves to the force being applied to the barrier.

The sound of glass shattering causing him to pause. Without any time to react, a flood of pitch black water rushed towards him, engulfing him completely.

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_Six year old Naruto Uzumaki shivered. Standing nude in a bathtube and dripping wet, he watched as the school nurse searched through her shelves. During recess, the boy had encountered a skunk and having never been warned about the dangers of the animal, had gone over to pet it. The result had been him getting sprayed head to toe by skunk, an overpowering foul smell coating his body._

_He'd been taken to the nurse's office immediately and forced to shower, but it hadn't helped. The nurse had then tried scrubbing him down with tomato juice to remove the stench, but that hadn't worked either. Grumbling about chakra mutated skunks, the nurse had started searching for something, but with little luck finding it apparently._

_The door to the nurse's office opened, far from Naruto's sight line, and the nurse moved immediately to check on the person that had entered. A minute passed before the door to the office closed and footsteps made their way towards him. When they stopped, Naruto saw a woman standing in the doorway, and it wasn't a nurse._

_"Well, well, well, if it isn't the demon child."_

_Naruto shivered; the woman was Ms. Hougiman, the science teacher for fifth year students. He'd only seen her in passing, but every time it had happened he'd always felt fear due to the way she'd glare at him, like if she could kill him with her glare she'd do it in a second. And now he was alone with her._

_"Such a filthy child you are, demon." She spat as she pulled a large container into the bathroom, liquid sloshing inside it. "Did you know my husband used to teach college level chemistry? Of course not, you didn't give a shit about that when you slaughtered those other villagers, why would you care about the man I loved!?"_

_"W-W-What does 'slaughdered' mean?" Naruto asked as he shivered, not just because of the cold anymore. His fear growing with each passing moment, he stumbled and mispronounced the words he tried to speak._

_"SILENCE!" The woman snarled, back handing him across the face. Naruto cried out in pain as the force of the blow knocked him off his feet, face first into the tub's faucet. Louder cries followed as Naruto collapsed on the tub's floor, clutching his eye. "I SAID SILENCE!"_

_A boot slammed onto his skull, causing it to hit the floor painfully, stunning the boy. "You killed my husband." Ms. Hougiman whispered. "You killed thousands of people, and you insult us all by prancing around looking like a young Yondaime! You've even ensnared the Sandaime to believe you're a harmless child, but you and I both know that's not true. You are a demon, an uncaring monster, and I will kill you. Not for fame or glory, but for all the people whose lives you've taken, especially my husband! Die Kyubi!"_

_The container lid hit the floor before Ms. Hougiman lifted the contain up and started pouring its contents onto Naruto. His cries of pain before were nothing compared to the screams coming from him now; the liquid burned and ate away at his skin, steam rising from his body and the tub itself. Naruto twisted and turned, trying to escape the burning liquid, but only managed to spread it further across his body..._

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Naruto lurged forward, emptying the contents of his stomach onto the cavern floor. His whole body was covered in sweat, and he couldn't stop shaking even after he was done retching. That memory, it had been so strong he had actually relived the pain he'd experienced.

The liquid Ms. Hougiman had dumped on him had been a form of slow dissolving acid, used to break down certain materials that couldn't be otherwise. Her husband had stored a number of his class supplies in their basement, and the woman had been waiting for the chance to use it on him.

The acid had left a lasting impression on his body, several pieces of skin were permanently scarred due to it. Naruto had been inconsolable when he'd seen himself in the mirror; a black ring around his right eye, the lower part of his face, most of the back of his body and all but a strip at the top of his torso had been discolored to various degrees of black. Unable to cope with the damage done to him, the young boy's mind broke.

Exhaling, Naruto sat on the cavern floor, uncaring of the water soaking through his clothes. With the memory seal released, everything about the incident and bits before and after had come rushing back to him. The last thing he could coherently remember was the Sandaime talking to a blond haired man, mentions of a seal while he was being restrained to the hospital bed.

Shaking his head, Naruto checked the pop up screen he'd been ignoring up till now.

- **Secret Found! 1/?**

- **Memory Seal broken, Body Illusion Seal broken**

**- Rewards: +10 Chakra, +10 Con, + 10 Int, +20 Cha, Memory Seal Grade 1 Scroll, Body Illusion Seal Scroll**

Naruto blinked at the information he'd just received. He was happy at the two scrolls he'd gotten, but the additions to his attributes was unexpected. The closest he could guess at this point was that the seals used to suppress the memories of the event had suppressed these attribute points as well. He didn't like that explanation, but it was all he had at the moment.

Shakily rising, Naruto rested a hand against the wall in an effort to steady himself. He froze when he saw the discolored skin on his hand. Quickly activating his Mental Animation skill, he stripped away his clothes and materialized a full body mirror. Across his entire body were patches of discolored skin, remnants of the acid attack he'd suffered as a child.

With a snarl, Naruto punched straight through the mirror, sending shards of glass everywhere. Bits scratched and even embedded into his skin, but he didn't care; the Hidden Leaf had damaged not just his psyche, but his physical body as well. Was there no end to what this Village had done to him? Would do to him?

This mission was no longer about simply destroying the Village, it was about survival; it was him or them, and it damn sure wasn't going to be him! Healing his wounds and reforming his clothes, Naruto followed the map he'd made with his Sensor skill, and began the long trek to the Kyubi's chamber.

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Naruto took in the changes to the chamber; the barred gate that kept the Kyubi sealed was bent and warped in multiple places, and what appeared to be a giant yellow organ had attached itself to the cage, floor, and ceiling. Watching the organ pulse in time with the pains he got from the barrier, Naruto deduced it was the mental manifestation of the barrier jutsu draining his life force.

Turning towards the cage, his eyes widened as he saw the Kyubi swallow a giant purple sphere of energy, it's body beginning to bloat up. Activating the Mental Animation skill, Naruto slammed both fists into the ground, causing multiple wedge shaped columns to shoot up from the ground in front of him till it reached the cage.

A huge burst of energy erupted from the cage and impacted against the first wedge. It quickly pierced through it, but as it continued through more of them, the ray of energy became more and more divided. Finally, the ray broke into two against the final wedge, both rays impacting the chamber walls. Just as the rays ended, the last wedge crumbled, leaving a wide eyed and highly unnerved Naruto in the open.

"What the fuck was that!?" Naruto exclaimed. The Kyubi replied in way of a shockwave, which caused Naruto to dive to the side to avoid it. Getting back to his feet, Naruto saw the Kyubi charging up another purple sphere. "Oh hell no!"

Once again activating the Mental Animation skill, he formed a small block around him from the cavern wall, and the proceeded to flip the entire cavern over. The shift in placement caught the Kyubi by surprise, and unable to wedge it's claws into the floor quick enough it fell down, onto the ceiling and onto the purple orb.

The orb violently exploded, almost drowning out the pained yell from the Kyubi of it s own attack damaging it. Before the smoke even settled, the chamber shifted once again, this time ending with the chamber entrance being on the ceiling with water gushing from it. Once again the shift in room placement caught Kyubi off guard, and it fell to the back end of its cage.

Naruto burst from his cavern block and dropped to the cage. Creating a small platform beneath him, Naruto dropped into the cage and watched as the Kyubi roared and snarled as it fought against the waterfall of water pouring onto it. Once he was able, Naruto drained a hundred CP into his Mental Animation skill, and used it to change the water just as it passed his platform.

Kyubi let out a howl of pain as the water suddenly began to burn his body. In the back of its mind it realized the liquid was no longer water, but was in far too much of a frenzy to think coherently. Kyubi tried launching shockwaves upward but it only seemed to delay the downpour for a few seconds at best and still left him to deal with what was around it already.

Naruto gazed down on the Kyubi as water continued to gush down upon it. Giving it an acid bath had been a great idea; the HP bar above its head slowly but steadily decreasing, even though he couldn't put a number to the amount. Once a minute passed, Naruto renewed the acid bath, certain that this was the only way he could beat Kyubi.

And he was successful; it had felt like several hours of work, alternating between acid baths and healing his own health, but eventually the Kyubi's HP bar drained completely. Once that had happened, there was a sudden explosion of orange, and the room suddenly reverted back to its original state. As a result, Naruto fell on his back, his head painfully hitting the floor.

Cursing under his breath, Naruto slowly sat up and examined his surroundings. He was just inside the damaged cage, but instead of the Kyubi being in there with him, there was a giant orange cloud of chakra floating before him. Activating the pause feature, he quickly saved his game data before flipping to the Journal screen.

- **Random Event-The Kyubi is Raging: Complete**

- **Reward: 5,000 exp**

- **Bonus Reward: Kyubi Relationship Up**

- **Secret Event-Defeat the Kyubi no Kitsune**

-** Rewards: 500,000,000 exp, Nine Tails Naruto Skill, Yang Release Scroll**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

- **Level Up Available**

Naruto could only gawk as he read the screen; he'd gotten twenty-one level ups from defeating Kyubi, as well as gaining a 'Nine Tails Naruto' skill. Once again, Naruto could not help but laugh at how completely broken the gaming system was, but he was still going to take advantage of it. He'd raise his Intelligence as high as it could go before using the points from the rest of the level ups to boost his other stats; soon he'd be unstoppable!

Flipping to the stats screen he clicked the level up button...and nothing happened. Frowning, Naruto tried again, and again, and again, yet nothing happened. Figuring it might be because he was in pause mode, Naruto closed the menu and exited the mode. Before he could do anything, the orange cloud before him rushed him, engulfing his form. Naruto cried out in pain as the orange chakra burned through his clothes, his skin, throughout his body; try as he might, he couldn't escape the cloud, and for some reason he couldn't activate his Mystical Palm skill no matter how many times he flashed through the hand signs. Eventually the pain became too much to bear, and Naruto passed out.

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He couldn't move, his body didn't respond to his commands. He was still in pain, but was able to think coherent thoughts. But most importantly, he could hear voices, a pair of them, standing near his body. It was broken up, but he could make out bits of the conversation.

"...Close one...almost lost him to..."

"Agreed...unexpected...even Master Core didn't..."

"What...happen?"

"...glitched world...reboot...explain to him...eliminate."

Naruto didn't like the eliminate part, but one thing stuck out to him. '_Glitched world? What does that mean?_' Unable to do anything at the moment, Naruto let himself relax and fall back into blissful unconsciousness.

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And that's all for this chapter. Just managed to get it done in my month time limit. I hope I didn't upset everyone with the whole 'Naruto beat Kyubi before being a Genin' bit; that and a lot more will be explained next chapter.

Pretty sure I know who the second girl of the pairing is, but I'm keeping it to myself now; gotta keep some things a surprise. Anyways, I've gone back and edited prior chapters a bit appearance wise, not content, so the gamer information/pop up screens will be more easily seen.

Hopefully I'll have the next chapter out in the first week of December at the latest, keeping with my monthly posting schedule. Think that's about it, so feel free to review, and see you all next time!


	4. Chapter 4

**Yami Naruto: The Gamer 2.0**

Greetings everyone, welcome to the next chapter! This chapter should answer a number of questions reviewers have asked, as well as seeing a theme I'm working on for a series of Gamer stories. Action will return in the next chapter, and pick up where the playthrough left off the following chapter. Be sure to check the author's note at the end of the chapter, there will be a poll that can have a big impact on the story.

Thanks again for all the reviews, follows, and faves, really appreciate it everyone. Position for a beta is still open, so if anyone wants it just message me. Think that's all now, so enjoy the chapter ^^

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Naruto series, nor The Gamer manga series.

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The first thing he could identify when he next awoke was that he had the mother of all headaches. Second was that he was lying down on something soft, not quite a bed but with cushions. Realizing thinking hurt, Naruto stopped trying to, and proceeded to just lay where he was and massage his forehead.

"Finally awake I see."

Naruto flinched at the voice. "Damn it, not so loud!" he cursed, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I am whispering, but maybe this will help."

Naruto felt a hand press against his forehead, emitting a strange yet soothing energy that caused him to sigh in relief. The hand stayed for over a minute before moving off, but it had worked it's magic; Naruto could think clearly now. Slowly he opened his eyes and took in his surroundings.

The room he was in was about as large as his living room and kitchen combined. The walls and ceiling were grey, borderline black, and had large silver whirlpool designs. The silver whirlpool designs gave off a soothing glow, which surprisingly was enough to light up the entire room without being painful to the eyes.

Several shelves, bookcases, and even pedestals lined the quarters of the room, filled with trophies, awards, books, and the occasional photo as well. A large crescent moon shaped desk was next to the only door in the room, several chairs in front of it. Finally, just in front of the couch he was on, there was a coffee table with several coasters on it.

What really caught his attention was the figure sitting on the edge of the table before him. It was a girl, late teens if he had to guess, who had long pitch black hair tied back in a single ponytail, a black headband with a whirlpool emblem on it, and amber colored eyes with a slit shaped pupil. She was clad in a black belly top, black skin tight biker style shorts, and a blood red sleeveless battle kimono that was currently open.

The thing that stood out the most to Naruto was her skin; pale white in color, it seemed to be emitting a soft glow from under a layer or two of skin. The girl's mere presence screamed power to Naruto; even the Kyubi in all its furious might paled in comparison to what he could feel emitting from the girl who was sitting before him, relaxed and not even trying to bring her might down on him.

This was not someone to piss of; Naruto knew even with his new Nine Tails Naruto skill that this girl would wipe the floor with him. As a result, he decided to air on the side of caution and be polite. "Naruto Uzumaki." he introduced himself as he slowly sat up.

The girl smirked. "I believe you mean 'Yami' Naruto Uzumaki, correct?" Naruto froze at this. "Relax little brother, you're among friends. I am Naruko Uzumaki, originally Yami Naruko."

'_Naruko_?' Naruto knew the name, his lighter half had been developing a jutsu involving a naked female form to use against perverts...something he should actually consider given the number of perverts in the village. In any case, he had named the form 'Naruko,' a female version of himself, and this girl was claiming...

"Your alternate was making up the sexy jutsu, right?" Naruko questioned with a grin.

"Yeah." Naruto admitted.

"It's actually not a bad jutsu." Naruko stated, to his surprise. "The moment's hesitation a target can have when seeing that form can make all the difference in a life or death situation."

"And the blood loss from nose bleeds don't hurt either." Naruto added.

"Absolutely." Naruko grinned. "How are you feeling?"

Naruto paused to consider the question before shrugging. "My skin stings a little, but whatever you did got rid of most of the pain I was in."

"A natural side effect when the Gamer Lifestyle program is removed from your body." Naruko replied with a nod. "You'll get it back after we fix a few issues with it. Until then, we have a lot to talk about little bro."

Although unnerved at the loss of his Gamer powers, Naruto tried to put up a brave front. "What do we need to discuss?"

"Lets' talk at my desk." Naruko suggested. "I'm about to throw a lot of information at you, and I believe visual aids will help in certain parts."

Naruto nodded in agreement and carefully stood. Offering Naruko a hand, she raised an eyebrow but took it and was helped up. The pair made their way over to the desk, Naruko sitting behind it, and Naruto before it. Now close to the desk, Naruto could see computer consoles and screens on Naruko's side.

"So to start, I imagine you'd want to know what the hell happened in your game, right?" Naruko began. Naruto nodded his head. "Well, the Gamer Lifestyle 2.0 system was meant for Naruto Uzumaki, not Yami Naruto. The instant the program was embedded into Naruto's soul was the same that you established dominance over your body, which caused the program to glitch. The odds of this happening are astronomical, but it happened in this case."

"You're not going to revive that idiot, are you?" Naruto asked with a frown.

"I think what you mean to ask is, 'Are you going to seal me in that idiot?'" Naruko countered. "The answer is no; when you glitched the system, your world split into two new dimensions, one with you as the gamer, and one with your lighter idiot self as one as well."

Naruko then sighed. "This was not a situation we had anticipated, and has caused us all problems. We're trying to seal off the Naruto multiverse to support two Gamer 2.0 programs at once, something we didn't want to do. As it stands, if we lose either of you due to a system crash, the Gamer 2.0 program will be lost to us, setting us back several hundred million years."

Naruto blinked. "You kinda jumped ahead of me." He admitted. "Naruto multiverse, hundred million years?"

"Ah, sorry about that." Naruko said, bopping herself on her head. "Have you ever heard the expression, 'Life is but a game?'" Naruto shook his head. "Well that expression is closer to the truth then most realize."

Naruko began typing on her computer, a holographic image of a computer chip appearing between them. "Do you know what this is?"

"A computer chip?"

"It's in the shape of one, but this is actually an entire multiverse." Naruko answered, causing Naruto to blink. "A multiverse is a group of dimensions that follows a set of rules and guidelines in regards to the laws of nature as well as following a specific path of evolution. From there, each dimension is divided by every conceivable possibility a situation can have. When we refer to the multiverse, we are talking about a specific set of dimensions. Do you follow me thus far?"

Naruto nodded his head yes. Naruko began typing again, and the image changed from one chip to several in a circle. At the center of the circle was a blue glowing sphere. "This is just a small piece of what existence looks like from higher beings like us. That glowing sphere in the middle is Master Core; it is basically the thing that defines existence and keeps existence itself from ending. Ever wonder where gods come from? That's the place."

Naruko paused, giving Naruto time to absorb what he'd just learned, to which he was thankful. It was hard to wrap his mind around; the image before him showed reality as it was from an outside perspective, and seeing the origin of it too was just...he shook his head.

"You said we were higher beings?" Naruto asked.

"More or less, yes." Naruko replied. "We possess the potential or attributes to change the future of our own world slash dimension, and Master Core recognizes this. For the remainder of our natural life, it tests our morals and abilities by installing the Gamer Lifestyle program into us."

She then sighed. "It doesn't do that right away though; first it identifies those special individuals, then replicates that dimension, and only then does it give the program to the individual." She gave Naruto a weary look. "This process is part the issue with your game."

"Because both dimensions got Gamer programs?" Naruto asked.

"Yes." Naruko confirmed. "This isn't a good thing because it links both dimensions together like a lifeline; if one Gamer dies and is unable to be revived, then both dimensions fade from existence. The sudden absence of two dimensions can cause a disturbance in that multiverse, some minor, but some can destroy that multiverse entirely. That last one has happened several million times." Naruko finished with a shake of her head.

"Is that what happened to my dimension?"

"Nearly." Naruko answered grimly. "Our multiverse was the first to use the 2.0 version of the program, so a lot of us were paying close attention to it. When your idiot lighter half got himself killed without a save file, the backlash nearly wiped out your dimension as well."

"And that's what caused the game to crash?" Naruto asked.

"Part of it, yes." Naruko answered. "But we bare some of the fault ourselves too. When the dimensional split took place, your dimension was frozen. When the idiot died and got his dimension and another erased, we had to scramble to save what we could from those dimensions. In order to save yours, and thus the Naruto multiverse, we had to integrate the aspects we managed to save into your dimension, which is what restarted your world."

"That's why I started at level two, right?" Naruto asked. "And with double the stats and skill level."

"More or less." Naruko replied. "Attributes were straight forward, but skills were based on experience points; you got double the skill's experience points but not double the levels."

"So if you managed to stop the backlash, what caused my game to crash? Was it when I took out the teams that attacked me? Or was it beating Kyubi?"

"The only thing you did wrong in regards to your assassins was using the kunai and scroll explanation for your jinchuriki status." Naruko answered with a glare.

A heavy pressure suddenly hit Naruto, causing him to gasp. "Do you have any idea how irritating it is to hear that explanation given time and again; a scroll can NOT gain the metallic attributes of the kunai sealed inside it! A glass of water is a much more accurate explanation; you're the glass, the demon is the liquid, and you can see a bit of the demon from the outside as the water color being your whiskers. Furthermore, when you feel pressure, or when the liquid inside heats up, the glass sweats with the bit of liquid evaporating from within, forming condensation and is the drawing out of the demon's chakra."

"If that wasn't enough, you cost me over twenty million ryo on a bet over what explanation you'd give!" Naruko finished with a growl. Naruto briefly saw a spectral image of some strange creature with ten tails thrashing behind it, behind Naruko and shivered.

"Uh...I'll pay you back?" Naruto offered nervously.

The pressure vanished. "Damn right you will!" Naruko exclaimed. She then smiled. "Now where were we?"

"The reason behind the game crashing, the assassins in my apartment, and Kyubi."

"Ahh, right. Okay, aside from that one thing, you did well in the attack. With the bleed damage setting on, you managed quite well against the Chunin level opponents and the drop outs."

"Wait a second, the pop ups said they were Jonin rank."

"And I said they were Chunin level; just because someone has a rank doesn't mean they have the skill or experience to go with it, especially in such a shady business as the one we're in." Naruko explained with a smirk. "Lucky for you, you get experience based on rank, not skill or experience." She shrugged. "In any case, you handled the attack much better than your lighter half, and far better than most people your age, so good job with that."

"As for your battle with Kyubi, that's where things get complicated." Naruko continued. "Aside from your counterpart, Gods and Demon Lords got priority as far as save and transfer procedures went. You Naruto have both one of the strongest Demon Lords in your soul as well as the chakra of the Death God enforcing the seal. When we tried transferring their data, for lack of a better word, into your dimension, the system gained another glitch."

"The battle itself was fine, drowning it in acid was quite inventive; don't think I've seen that before. However, the battle should have never been able to happen in the first place; the cage had been warped due to the influx of chakra from the alternate versions of Kyubi and the Death God being added. It also had the effect of weakening Kyubi a great deal due to the seal malfunctioning."

"So my method won't work a second time." Naruto sighed.

"Oh it could, you just wouldn't have the protection the seal granted you and it would take much longer to beat him." Naruko replied with a wave of her hand. "Just to be clear, it wasn't the battle that caused the game to crash, it was the influx of energy from higher beings that caused it; nothing could have stopped it from happening, so we had to be ready to grab you when it happened."

"Grab me from..."

"Falling into a void that erases everything within it." Naruko replied. "Had you fallen into it, the Naruto multiverse would have been erased."

"Why do you keep calling it the 'Naruto' multiverse?"

"There are dozens of other multiverse that have ninja come from them, this is just a way to identify ours. As for the name choice, most Gamers are versions of ourselves, so..." Naruko shrugged.

"I see..." Naruto replied. "Is there a point to all this? I mean, why are there even 'Gamers' at all? And why was a second version created if it had such a huge risk to destroy a multiverse?"

"Gamers are appointed because Master Core, despite all its power, is not infallible." Naruko answered. "Master Core, once it defines existence in a multiverse, must then follow the rules of the nature of that multiverse. If something goes wrong in one that threatens others, there's only so much it can do to fix it without destroying that multiverse entirely."

"That's where the Gamers come in." Naruko continued. "Continuing with the computer analogies, the problems that form in the multiverse are viruses in the system, and Gamers act as anti-virus system protection. Once a virus is detected, a Gamer or group of Gamers are sent in to take care of it and then get that universe back on track, depending on how severe the problem is."

"Okay, that explains why Gamers exist." Naruto stated. "You said before that Gamers are tested for their abilities and morals; what happens if someone doesn't measure up? Are they erased at the end of their life or is the program removed and they go to the afterlife? What determines what happens to a Gamer when they finish their playthrough? And you still haven't answered why there's an upgraded version of the Gamer program."

"Geez, so many questions." Naruko stated with a shake of her head. "You know you're lucky to be told anything at all right? You're one of the rare few that has ever been into another realm without finishing his game."

"I'm guessing that's your way of saying you won't answer all of my questions." Naruto said with a sigh.

"I can only answer questions relevant to how your game glitched and a general understanding of your situation." Naruko explained. "I can answer why they've made an upgraded Gamer system though; the Viral Gamers."

"Viral Gamers, like they become viruses in the system? Have they deserted Master Core's power, or is something subverting them?" Naruto asked.

"We don't know." Naruko answered with a sigh. "The Viral Gamers have erased almost every Gamer they come in contact with; we can count on one human hand how many Gamers have survived an encounter. From what we learned, the Viral Gamers have claimed that they've deserted Master Core's authority, but without capturing one and examining their coding, we don't know if they're doing it willingly or if they are being corrupted or controlled or..." She shook head.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to make an upgraded system if you don't know what's causing Gamers to go Viral?" Naruto asked. "I'm not trying to get out of being a gamer, and I'm not scared of facing these Viral Gamers, but I am worried that other upgraded ones can still be corrupted or go rouge."

"You're a fool not to be scared of these Virals." Naruko stated. "There are ways around the limitations placed in the Gamer programming, and they are exploiting everyone of them. Each Viral Gamer has thousands of years of experience wielding their powers, levels well over 500, and stats that baseline five digits each. You may be able to reach their stat baseline quickly enough, but not their experience or their battle instincts; even I would be torn apart and I'm an immortal demon goddess with reality warping powers!"

"Immortal demon goddess?" Naruto questioned.

"I can't die from age, injury, or illness, I've assimilated all ten Demon Lords plus a few other demons, and I've absorbed the original chakra user which was a goddess." Naruko replied, ticking each one off on her fingers. "I'd go on, but I'm not allowed to give anything more specific in case it's relevant to your playthrough."

Naruto frowned at that, but let the subject drop. "So is there anything in place to defend against the Virals interfering with my playthrough? What is their end game anyways?"

"We don't know their ultimate goal." Naruko replied, growling softly in frustration. "Right now the best we have is that they are traveling any multiverse that has reality warping powers in them, things like wish granting or advanced matter manipulation. Those things are deadly no matter what universe you're from, so we're trying to keep watch over those multiverse.

"As for your universe, we're keeping an especially close eye on it; it'll take time to fix things so if you die it won't destroy the entire Naruto multiverse in the first place, and of course there's your upgraded Gamer program as well. The higher ups have stated that they are working on a failsafe program for you should you encounter any Viral Gamers during your playthrough, but I'm afraid I don't know any specifics."

"I see." Naruto stated. "Well, is there anything beside rapid stat growth that's special about this upgrade?"

"It's a different base setup then the original system, but there is one thing that blows the old system away." Naruko answered, her grin returning. "The Gamer Body skills has been upgraded for more body augmentations, and you can find them at the MC store on your menu screen."

"MC store...Master Core store?"

"I didn't pick the name, and I'm not questioning anything with the Core's name on it," was Naruko's monotone response. "Throughout your playthrough you'll get the chance to earn MC store cards, each card giving you access to different levels of material within the store. Jutsu and skill scrolls, bonuses, rare items and equipment, even scrolls that will give you elemental affinities and bloodlines; with the Gamer Body augmentations, you could have all of the bloodlines in your universe, all the powers each higher being has, and you...how do I put this...things that would normal conflict within your body to the point of killing you wouldn't do that now. You can basically become the master of your multiverse's powers if you play your game the right way."

Naruto's jaw dropped; he could gain all bloodlines, all jutsu, basically max out everything? It was only now just hitting him how serious the situation must be if this kind of power was being placed in the grasp of someone like him. It was, well, it was a lot to take in to say the least.

"That's just..." Naruto couldn't find the words for it, and merely shook his head.

"Yeah, it's something else." Naruko said. "The plan is for only a hundred V2 Gamers to be active at one time, which given the near infinite number of multiverse is an incredibly small number. We're doubtful that very many will be able to get _everything_ in their worlds, but what they do get should help them be better than the original Gamers, with the proper training of course."

Naruko paused for a moment. "Actually, even after our natural lives are over we're allowed to buy things from our home multiverse, so perhaps the V2 Gamers will be able to access their MC stores after their playthrough...if that's the case, they will be even more valuable then I originally thought."

"Let me know if you do; I don't want to spend my game saving up for some ridiculously priced skill or power if I can get it afterwards." Naruto requested.

"Sure thing bro." Naruko replied with a smile. "Any other questions?"

"Off the top of my head, what exactly is going to happen with the lost dimensions in my multiverse?" Naruto asked. "You mentioned before you were transferring data to my playthrough, but you also said that both my lighter half and I were required if we didn't want to lose the whole Naruto multiverse. How does that work?"

"Right now the idiot is being kept in a cryo chamber. We're working with Master Core to develop a new dimension in our multiverse for him to play through, making it as similar to his old dimension's world as possible. It'll take about a year to complete, at which point your game will be paused, you brought back here, and the data added to your game will be transferred to the replica dimension for the idiot to play through." Naruko explained.

"By data I'm assuming you mean the Demon Lords, Death Gods, and other important beings you're merging into my game, right?"

"Yes." Naruko confirmed. She then leaned closer to him. "Due to the unique circumstances, you and your idiot other are going to get the odds stacked in your favor as best we can before sending you back. We need you two to complete your games so we can safely analyze and replicate the Gamer Lifestyle 2.0 system. Right now we have failsafes' attached to the ones you boys are using, preventing anyone from gaining access to the pure coding until your game is done; even Master Core will not be able to do anything more then remove any glitches or bugs in the program, should such a thing happen."

Naruto frowned. "That means I'll have to work extra hard to prove myself if I'm being given advantages others don't usually get."

"The advantages you'll receive is when we get your program back, and setting up a better back story for your assassination attempt. After that, it'll be all you." Naruko clarified.

"That's good." Naruto sighed in relief.

"You sound like you really want to join us." Naruko noted.

"More like I want to earn the right to be." Naruto replied. "I still have to think about it, but I got plenty of time to decide, so I'm not gonna worry too much about it right now."

"That's a wise decision." Naruko said. "Any other questions?"

Naruto was silent for a moment before he hesitantly asked, "Why don't you seem evil like me?"

Naruko smiled kindly at Naruto. "I can certainly be an evil bitch when I want to be, but six-hundred thousand plus years can really mellow out a person's attitude."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Just how long do you keep the system in check for?!"

"Field work is one point five million years, while training newbies and working other departments is allowed for five-hundred thousand years." Naruko answered. "We're allowed to interchange those shifts, and even ignore them for certain situations if they're grave enough, but once a Gamer reaches two million years of service they're returned to their world's afterlife, or whatever arrangement they make with Master Core."

"What will happen to you when your time is up? You did say you couldn't die from aging."

"I've made arrangements with Master Core." Naruko answered. "Once my time is up I'll be able to keep the powers I've earned, and become a guardian deity for our multiverse. I'll also be able to re-incarnate myself into any of them and keep any powers I learn from those lifetimes as well. It's a position Master Core is letting me test run in our multiverse, so as to help ease the need for more Gamers from here."

"Do these guardian deities exist for other multiverse?"

"Yes, the-" Naruko's computer screen started flashing red. Quickly typing on her keypad, Naruko stopped the screen's flashing and brought up another screen with writing in a language Naruto could not read.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

Naruko looked past the screen at him. "There's a possible infiltrator heading for your counterpart. I need to go deal with this." As she stood up, a black aura of chakra surrounded her body, a black furred tail sprouting from her tailbone. "Stay here and don't trust anyone; I'm locking this room down so only I can open it, so ignore anything you might hear outside the door. Understand?"

"Perfectly!" Naruto stated. Naruko nodded her head before fading out. The whirlpool designs on the walls all flashed once before returning to their normal glow.

Silence enveloped the room. For the first time since he'd awaken, Naruto was alone, and could now fully process the information of what had happened to him, and of what he'd just learned. His body began to shake, despite his efforts not to; there were being of such power he'd never imagined, other world and things he'd never dream of! How insignificant was he and his ambitions in comparison to everything else? These questions and more would race about his head for hours to come.

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He'd lost track of time; he had no idea if it had been hours, days, or even weeks since Naruko left him in this room, but time seemed to just stretch on and on for him. Naruto had eventually managed to pull himself together and make some semblance of a plan for himself, which gave him enough comfort to calm himself down some.

After that, Naruto had begun examining the room he'd been locked in, in more detail. Unfortunately, many of the books in it were written in a language he couldn't read, he'd never seen some of the shapes her trophies took, and he had no access to the computer Naruko had been using. That said, there was one book he could read, and it had been a goldmine of information for it; the Life of Naruko Uzumaki!

Laying back on the couch, Naruto had spent much of his time reading the book. He was initially disappointed when he realized it was about the non-Gamer version of Naruko, but as he read he found it didn't matter; information was power, and if anything in this book held true to his own dimension, it would give him a big advantage for his playthrough.

Naruto had reached about halfway through the book when, for the first time since he'd met Naruko, something in the room changed. The couch beneath him began to glow a golden hue, gold sparks rising up from it. Before he could do anything, his vision was engulfed in the golden light and he was falling! Time passed as he fell through the golden light, an unseen wind screaming in his ears, before he finally stopped.

The golden light vanished from his vision, and Naruto quickly took stock of his surroundings. He was lying on his back on what seemed to be a stone floor, outside somewhere given the dark sky above him. Pillars of smoke was rising up to the sky from all around him, and the heat of the area made the Hidden Leaf at summertime feel like freezer burn in comparison.

Shakily he rose to his feet. Naruto was standing on the wall of a castle, one that stood on top of a mountain. There was no grass in sight, just dirt and mud for the landscape. Surrounding the mountain were several active volcanoes, each overflowing with lava, forming rivers and lakes from it. In the distance he could make out small structures, though he couldn't be certain since they appeared to be made out of mud.

"Enjoying the view bro?"

Naruto spun around and leapt back, pulling a kunai out of his pouch. Standing near one of the castle doors was Naruko, an eyebrow raised in amusement at his actions. She started towards him, only to frown as a kunai embedded itself in the floor before her.

"That's close enough." Naruto growled, pulling a second knife out. "What was it you said I did that you'd never seen before?"

Naruko smiled in return. "A test to see if I'm an imposter, very good. I said drowning the Kyubi in acid was something I'd never saw happen before. Now put that knife away and come inside, it's much cooler in there."

"I'll keep it out if it's all the same." Naruto stated, slowly approaching her. "Don't know if you're a mind reader or not."

"Not yet I'm afraid, but if this will make you feel better." Naruko flared her black aura, her black tail reforming behind her. Both feeling and sensing the familiar power, Naruto sighed and put his knife away. Naruko nodded in approval and let her aura fade, thought she retained her tail for some reason.

The pair made their way inside, the castle door closing behind them of its own accord. Naruko had been right, it was cooler inside. The contrast in temperature was enough to make Naruto shiver, but a quick jutsu from Naruko evened out his body temperature. Following the red carpet, the pair made their way to a spiral staircase and began to climb.

"What happened?" Naruto asked.

"A traitor tried to steal one of the V2 Gamer programs as well as your counterpart." Naruko answered. "He was nearing the end of his contract with Master Core and didn't want to give up his Gamer powers, so he planned to trade the program and your counterpart for freedom of Master Core's control."

"Trade it with the Viral Gamers, right?"

"Yes. It took a number of us to take him down, and he took a lot of gamers with us." Naruko said sadly. "There are normally fail safes in place to prevent this kind of thing from happening, but for some reason it didn't work this time. Our top experts are looking into this while some are trying to contact Master Core for answers."

"Did the idiot make it out okay?" Naruto asked.

"He's alive and here in this world with us, but his V2 Gamer program was destroyed in the fight." Naruko answered with a frown.

"What does that mean?"

"I have no idea."

"Wait, what?"

"I have no idea what that means!" Naruko exclaimed, looking visibly frustrated for the first time. "At this point all we can do is wait on Master Core's instructions, because this situation has gone beyond my comprehension."

"Okay." Naruto said cautiously, not wanting to draw the girl's ire. Trying to change the subject he asked, "Where are we going now?"

"We're meeting up with the Gamer of this dimension. She was one of the developers of the V2 Gamer program, and managed to escape the incident at HQ with your program." Naruko explained. "She's locked down this dimension, so only Master Core should be able to reach us now."

"Anything I should know about this Gamer?"

"Her name is Hilda and she was originally evil like us. She actually retains some of her more violent tendencies, so try not to anger her. As long as you treat her like you treat me, she won't disembowel you and toss your organs and body parts into individual volcanoes." Naruko replied.

"And you couldn't stop her from doing that!?" Naruto asked, alarmed.

"Possibly, but I'd rather you not provoke her and chance it." Naruko answered. "Even knowing it would destroy our multiverse if you or your counterpart are killed, she has the habit of attacking people that annoy her. Given that she's one of our older Gamers and is easily in the top one thousand Gamers in rank, a simple attack from her could quite easily erase you and cripple me for a time."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Tell me the idiot isn't alone with her now." Naruko's eyes widened, and with a curse she began running up the staircase. Cursing as well, Naruto rushed after her.

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And that's all for this chapter. First off, huge apology for the delayed posting of this chapter. Real life issues got in the way and with a new job after the holidays, my writing time will be cut down even further. I'll try to have the next chapter out before the holidays are over, but I can't promise anything, even monthly updates unfortunately.

Second, I actually had to split this chapter in two, given the amount of content. I've got next chapter mapped out, and hopefully I'll be able to finish it up quickly.

Third, the poll. After reading this chapter you, the readers, now know it's possible to have characters from other dimensions (Series) involved in this story. My question to you is this; after the next chapter, do you want to see any other Gamers/Viral Gamers in this story? If the answer is yes, I will include a few chapters in the future to showcase this content. If not, then after the next chapter there will be no more mention of the other Gamers/Viral Gamers. I can finish this story either way, so I leave the choice up to you all.

Finally, Happy Holidays everyone! Till next time ^^


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